They are not burning coal already, are they? (Looking forward to the same radiological discovery about coal when the generators start to get heavy use.)
It was reported so at the beginning, but later on people are realising some nuclear explosion occurred after finding scattered fuel rods near the site. Of course the reactors were unharmed though, there must have some nuclear reactions followed.
People can survive under relatively high radiation when it comes to external exposure. But whether they live comfortably enough is another.
You need to take everything you hear as having the potential to be wrong. Rumors are started by people who want to be seen as smart by their friends. If the government was lying about these numbers, the foreign press would have no reason to lie, too. You live in a free enough society that the means of verification are fully available to you, so to listen to rumors and allow the panic to take you and your neighbors, is to guarantee that you'll make things worse -- regardless of radiation levels.
Farmers can no longer sell crops, not because the food is not safe, but because there is a rumor that the food is not safe. Who does this harm? Everybody who wants to eat.
All because some people want to say scary half-truths, and make people think that their government is trying to kill them.
Is it possible that this will cause harm? Absolutely, yes. But, if you are actually going to be in danger, what does your government have to gain from lying about it? Will a liar keep his career?
If you were living in China, and saying these things, I would sympathize because there, attempt to verify information will get you killed. In Japan, attempt to verify information will sell more Geiger counters, and otherwise does nothing to threaten you.
I think government people are honest and trustworthy, but sometimes they are forced to hide the truth in case it induces the panic. I think they fully know the risk of radiation in Tokyo. But they just don't know how to deal with the fact they face as the scale of risk is too big.
WARNING: Open your windows! When you sleep with the windows closed, indoor air is mostly made of Nitrogen. You need Oxygen to survive, but IN YOUR HOME, your air is only 20% Oxygen. When you breathe inside YOUR OWN HOME, you are filling your lungs with more Nitrogen than any other type of gas. Indoor Nitrogen levels can be as high as 78%! Go, now, open your windows!
If I say it in a scary warning, you might start to wonder about the Nitrogen that fills your home by morning. Truth is, that the same percentage is true over water, in a valley, on a mountain, or in a spring meadow where the animals sing freely, and a clean river runs past. It sounds scary if you don't know what it means. Sleeping with your windows closed doesn't make a difference, but words can make it sound like it does.
My gut feeling to this is that your government is telling the truth, but the truth is boring. For many historically important reasons the boring facts are very difficult to accept. This is equally true of many things in many societies. When someone gives you these warnings, tell them to open their windows at night.
Akira's a-coming! :(
ReplyDeleteIt looks like an oil stain that subsequently catches and holds dust.
ReplyDeleteThey are not burning coal already, are they? (Looking forward to the same radiological discovery about coal when the generators start to get heavy use.)
ReplyDeleteAkira was a comic describing near future in Tokyo though, the near future was really near.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like and so similar to those found at beach in Qingdao city, but different in that it keeps dry while surrounding asphalt is wet.
ReplyDeletePeople whisper it is related to substance in fuel rods spread out in explosion.
ReplyDeleteThe explosions at Fukushima were hydrogen gas burning in air, not nuclear powered.
ReplyDeleteYou realize that 2 μSv/hr is about 1.7 mSv/yr, LOWER than the average 2.4 mSv/yr exposure people get around the world?
CORRECTION: it's 17 mSv/yr, still far lower than any dose with clinical effects.
It was reported so at the beginning, but later on people are realising some nuclear explosion occurred after finding scattered fuel rods near the site. Of course the reactors were unharmed though, there must have some nuclear reactions followed.
ReplyDeletePeople can survive under relatively high radiation when it comes to external exposure. But whether they live comfortably enough is another.
Engineer Poet is very direct, but he's not wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou need to take everything you hear as having the potential to be wrong. Rumors are started by people who want to be seen as smart by their friends. If the government was lying about these numbers, the foreign press would have no reason to lie, too. You live in a free enough society that the means of verification are fully available to you, so to listen to rumors and allow the panic to take you and your neighbors, is to guarantee that you'll make things worse -- regardless of radiation levels.
Farmers can no longer sell crops, not because the food is not safe, but because there is a rumor that the food is not safe. Who does this harm? Everybody who wants to eat.
All because some people want to say scary half-truths, and make people think that their government is trying to kill them.
Is it possible that this will cause harm? Absolutely, yes. But, if you are actually going to be in danger, what does your government have to gain from lying about it? Will a liar keep his career?
If you were living in China, and saying these things, I would sympathize because there, attempt to verify information will get you killed. In Japan, attempt to verify information will sell more Geiger counters, and otherwise does nothing to threaten you.
This.
ReplyDeleteI think government people are honest and trustworthy, but sometimes they are forced to hide the truth in case it induces the panic. I think they fully know the risk of radiation in Tokyo. But they just don't know how to deal with the fact they face as the scale of risk is too big.
ReplyDeletePeople appear to be panicking over things far too small to cause any measurable harm. Is the panic coming from information, or from misinformation?
ReplyDeleteThus my question on the other thread - do you trust your data?
ReplyDeleteWARNING: Open your windows! When you sleep with the windows closed, indoor air is mostly made of Nitrogen. You need Oxygen to survive, but IN YOUR HOME, your air is only 20% Oxygen. When you breathe inside YOUR OWN HOME, you are filling your lungs with more Nitrogen than any other type of gas. Indoor Nitrogen levels can be as high as 78%! Go, now, open your windows!
ReplyDeleteIf I say it in a scary warning, you might start to wonder about the Nitrogen that fills your home by morning. Truth is, that the same percentage is true over water, in a valley, on a mountain, or in a spring meadow where the animals sing freely, and a clean river runs past. It sounds scary if you don't know what it means. Sleeping with your windows closed doesn't make a difference, but words can make it sound like it does.
My gut feeling to this is that your government is telling the truth, but the truth is boring. For many historically important reasons the boring facts are very difficult to accept. This is equally true of many things in many societies. When someone gives you these warnings, tell them to open their windows at night.
And watch out for that dihydrogen monoxide, it's a real killer!
ReplyDeleteI've heard of people dying almost immediately after breathing it in!
ReplyDelete