UPDATED! Nuclear Crisis: Just Facts No Rumors

UPDATE: Radiation levels in Shinjuku - they are completely normal within the natural range. No problem at all for now.http://113.35.73.180/monitoring/index.html

EASIER TO READ CHARTS AND DATA BELOW ABOUT CURRENT RADIATION LEVELS AND WHAT IS SAFE:

Some people are being quite irresponsible with the fear mongering and rumor spreading. Some people have been quite insulting with their panic-stricken remarks. 


When there are so many rumors, we can only deal with the facts. Here they are. 


Here is an UPDATED chart from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology's National Metrology Institute of Japan webpage. It shows what typical radiation levels (measured in microSv) are in our daily lives:

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

At the bottom left, you see the mark of 190. That's the amount of radiation you get on a one-way flight from Tokyo to New York. Above that, you see the number 2400. That is the amount of radiation that a person gets annually from nature. At the top left is the number 10000. That is annual radiation amount a person who lives in Karapari City in Brazil gets. At the top right, you see 6900, that's the amount of radiation you get from a CT scan. Bottom right? That's 50, the amount a person receives from one X-ray. 

The next chart is from the Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Unit in Tsukuba (Tsukuba is about 75 kilometers north of Tokyo, one-quarter the way up from Tokyo towards Fukushima). It is an updated hourly summary of radiation measured in microSv/hour:

As you can see, the radiation did spike a bit yesterday but today, as of two hours ago, it was running about .13. Currently, at 5 pm Tokyo time, it is .10 that is 1900 times less radiation you would receive on the one way flight from Tokyo to New York. 

You can see updates for yourself here: http://www.aist.go.jp/taisaku/ja/measurement/index.html

I called the Radiation Effects Association at Radiation Science & Health Inc. (1) and asked them specifically to tell me what is the recognized safe limits for radiation measured in microSv/hour. The answer was,

"The internationally recognized safe level of radiation is 100 microSv/hour."

Don't believe me? Contact them yourselves:

Radiation Effects Association

1-9-16 Kajicho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 101-0044

Phone: +81-3-5295-1781

Fax: +81-3-5295-1486

email: mkaneko@rea.or.jp

Like I said, let's deal with facts. The internationally recognized safe levels are 100 microSv/hour, and the current levels are .10 then I don't see where there's need for panic.... 

Of course, it is prudent to be wise and careful about this situation as it is a serious problem. It is common sense to think about your loved ones first. But for those of us far away from the accident, panic is probably a greater threat to us than radiation. I would gather that this explains why experts and doctors knowledgeable about radiation and energy are saying that the situation is nothing to worry about.

So go ahead and take your vacation from Japan with your family. But do the responsible thing and stop spreading rumors and innuendo that only serve to make the situation much worse than it already is.

Here's a chart of daily radiation measured in milliSv/yr from Wikipedia: 

(Please note that the dosage of radiation from the Three Mile Island Nuclear reactor accident measured those who were 16 kilometers away from the accident site. We, in Tokyo, are 200 kilometers away from the accident site in Fukushima).

Dose Examples

[edit]Single Dose Examples

• Eating one banana: 0.0001 mSv
• Dental radiography: 0.005 mSv^[1]
• Average dose to people living within 16km of Three Mile Island accident: 0.08 mSv; maximum dose: 1 mSv
• Mammogram: 3 mSv^[1]
• Brain CT scan: 0.8–5 mSv^[2]
• Chest CT scan: 6–18 mSv^[2]
• Gastrointestinal series X-ray investigation: 14 mSv^[3]

[edit]Hourly Dose Examples

• Highest recorded radiation at reactor 2, Fukushima I: 8 mSv/hr^[4]
• Highest recorded radiation at Fukushima I: 1000 mSv/hr^[5][6], typical on March 15-16: 3-10 mSv/hr
• Typical dose near Chernobyl reactor 4 and its fragments, shortly after explosion: ~ 10000 - 300000 mSv/hr

[edit]Yearly Dose Examples

• Living near a nuclear power station: less than 0.01 mSv/year^[3]
• Cosmic radiation (from sky) at sea level: 0.24 mSv/year^[3]
• Terrestrial radiation (from ground): 0.28 mSv/year^[3]
• Natural radiation in the human body: 0.40 mSv/year^[3]
• Typical individual's natural background radiation: 2 mSv/year; 1.5 mSv/year for Australians, 3-6 mSv/year for Americans^[7][8]
• New York-Tokyo flights for airline crew: 9 mSv/year^[7]
• Radon in the average US home: 2 mSv/year^[3]
• Smoking 1.5 packs/day: 13 mSv/year^[9]
• Current average limit for nuclear workers: 20 mSv/year^[7]
• Background radiation in parts of Iran, India and Europe: 50 mSv/year^[7]
• Lowest clearly carcinogenic level: 100 mSv/year^[7]

(1)  Radiation Effects Association

1-9-16 Kajicho, Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 101-0044, Japan

Phone: +81-3-5295-1781,
Fax: +81-3-5295-1486

E-mail: mkaneko@rea.or.jp 

*Thanks to Tim Romero and John Pender. I owe you guys a nuclear powered shot of booze!