Medical Radiation Risk

There's been some buzz about perspectives on radiation dangers from medical professionals, so I took it upon myself to dig up an article about the risks of Fukushima radiation.

http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20110314/nuclear-meltdown-in-japan-radi...

It's a pretty generic site, but quotes several MDs and researchers into the effects of radiation, particularly physicians who've researched Chernobyl. It was published in mid-March, but provides an analysis of the dosages needed to seriously elevate cancer risk.

""The levels we're seeing coming from Japan are 100,000 times lower than what you get from taking a round-trip international flight," the EPA said in a March 22 news release.

The EPA maintains the RadNet system, made up of more than 100 monitors that give continuous, real-time radiation readings. The system also has 40 deployable monitors capable of reading the body dose of radiation a person would receive in the vicinity of the monitor. Just to be on the safe side, the EPA has sent extra monitors to Guam, Hawaii, and Alaska.

The EPA noted on March 28 that levels of radioactive iodine found in Massachusetts rain water exceed the maximum contamination limit (MCL) for drinking water. However, the MCL is calculated on the effects of drinking contaminated water for 70 years. The radioactive iodine in Massachusetts rainwater likely did come from Japan -- but it won't be there for long, as it has a half life of days rather than years."

"Royal notes that even if a person received enough radiation to cause radiation sickness -- 1,000 milisieverts -- the dose would increase their risk of cancer by 40%. To put this in perspective, smoking cigarettes increases cancer risk by 1,000% to 2,000%."

Take it or leave it, but here's the beginning of a reference point for linking the statistics here to a medical context.