High levels of radioactivity found extensively
High levels of radioactivity found extensively
Japan's science ministry says air above the ground about 150 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is as radioactive as areas 50 kilometers from the source of radioactivity.
The ministry on Wednesday released a map showing radiation levels at locations one meter above the ground in Miyagi Prefecture, north of Fukushima, based on the results of an aerial survey from June 22nd through 30th.
Radioactivity levels are highlighted in different colors.
Some parts of Kurihara City, about 150 kilometers north of the plant are light blue, indicating that the air there was 0.2 to 0.5 microsieverts per hour.
That's similar to areas close to the crippled plant, such as Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture, about 50 kilometers from the radioactive source.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/21_06.html
I am sorry to post this data it's very sad and troubling now the wind has shifted tdm.
.5 uSv an hour is not that
.5 uSv an hour is not that high. That is just twice background.
This is the Air !@150 km away
would u feel comfortable breathing this .I sure wouldn't want to.
Twice background, yeah I
Twice background, yeah I wouldn't have a problem. That is like if I moved from Berkeley to Denver.
Mabye u missed NHk headline
That's fine your choice .I will add there is a huge difference between background radiation and highly radioactive airborne particles which is what Japan is experiencing .
No there isn't. Radiation
No there isn't. Radiation is radiation. There are always highly radioactive particles around us. What do you think radon gas is? It is all the same.
Really it's not all the same Ty EPA
Effects of Radiation Type and Exposure Pathway
Both the type of radiation to which the person is exposed and the pathway by which they are exposed influence health effects. Different types of radiation vary in their ability to damage different kinds of tissue. Radiation and radiation emitters (radionuclides) can expose the whole body (direct exposure) or expose tissues inside the body when inhaled or ingested.
All kinds of ionizing radiation can cause cancer and other health effects. The main difference in the ability of alpha and beta particles and gamma and x-rays to cause health effects is the amount of energy they can deposit in a given space. Their energy determines how far they can penetrate into tissue. It also determines how much energy they are able to transmit directly or indirectly to tissues and the resulting damage.
Although an alpha particle and a gamma ray may have the same amount of energy, inside the body the alpha particle will deposit all of its energy in a very small volume of tissue. The gamma radiation will spread energy over a much larger volume. This occurs because alpha particles have a mass that carries the energy, while gamma rays do not.
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/health_effects.html#q1
That is true, but they are
That is true, but they are giving data in dose. Which means it doesn't matter the mode of transfer or what kind of decay it was, it is all taken into account. The stuff in the air are beta/gamma emitters. Any alpha emitters would be from natural decay chains of uranium/thorium.
Explanation for u to understand by expert not me
Reply to ASK-AN-EARTH-SCIENTIST
Subject: Natural Isotopes
What are Natural Isotopes?
Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different masses. They get these different masses by having different numbers of neutrons in their nucleii. They are the same type of atom, however, because their nucleii have the same number of protons in them.
Isotopes of atoms that occur in nature come in two flavors: stable and unstable (radioactive). Some of the unstable isotopes are only moderately unstable and can therefore still persist in nature today. The isotope 238-U is a good example. It is radioactive but it's half life is 4.43 billion years. The Earth itself is 4.55 billion years old, so we now have roughly half of the 238-U on Earth that we had when Earth was formed. When an unstable isotope decays, it makes a new atom of a different element. Stable, isotopes, on the other hand, do not decay.
What determines whether an isotope is stable or unstable, and if it is unstable, how unstable it is (i.e., how short it's half life is) depends on the energy of the configuration of that particular nucleus. This is a subject of nuclear physics and too detailed to go into here.
Just so you know, there are also non-Natural (man made) isotopes. These are all radioactive.
Dr. Ken Rubin, Assistant Professor
Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822
Reply to ASK-AN-EARTH-SCIENTIST
Subject: Natural Isotopes
What are Natural Isotopes?
Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different masses. They get these different masses by having different numbers of neutrons in their nucleii. They are the same type of atom, however, because their nucleii have the same number of protons in them.
Isotopes of atoms that occur in nature come in two flavors: stable and unstable (radioactive). Some of the unstable isotopes are only moderately unstable and can therefore still persist in nature today. The isotope 238-U is a good example. It is radioactive but it's half life is 4.43 billion years. The Earth itself is 4.55 billion years old, so we now have roughly half of the 238-U on Earth that we had when Earth was formed. When an unstable isotope decays, it makes a new atom of a different element. Stable, isotopes, on the other hand, do not decay.
What determines whether an isotope is stable or unstable, and if it is unstable, how unstable it is (i.e., how short it's half life is) depends on the energy of the configuration of that particular nucleus. This is a subject of nuclear physics and too detailed to go into here.
Just so you know, there are also non-Natural (man made) isotopes. These are all radioactive."
Dr. Ken Rubin, Assistant Professor
Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/isotopes.html
You do know the distinction
You do know the distinction between man made and artificial isotopes is itself artificial. All these isotopes have been created before in stars. but they have decayed away by now. Also, all the isotopes were created naturally a couple of billion of years ago in the oklo natural reactor. They do the same damage. If I have a curie source of Pu237, and a curie source of Po210, the damage from them is nearly equal. One is "natural" and the other is "man made."
Great explanation of transuranic ( manmade elements) @link
"Anything with an atomic number greater than 92 (Uranium), is called transuranic. These elements are manmade, but is there a difference in any way besides that? How are these elements created?
We generally call the transuranics "man-made" elements because they are normally not found in nature. However, it has been verified that some of these elements are produced and found in nature in very small amounts. It's likely that all of them (and maybe more) exist somewhere in the universe, but the only way to get them in any useful amounts is to make them yourself."
http://education.jlab.org/qa/transuranic_01.html