Why You Shouldnt Panic About Radiation From Japan
While heroic workers battle the threat of nuclear meltdown in Japan, a different kind of fallout seems to threaten the peace of those of us in the US. As fears that radioactive particles will float across the ocean and strike the United States escalate, we seem to be paying less attention to the tragic loss of life and peace in Japan and more on how this might hurt us right here at home.Some of my friends are fleeing the west coast in search of safe haven further east. Others are dosing up on potassium iodide in an attempt to protect themselves (as evidenced by those who are stockpiling potassium iodide in spite of the advice of health officials who are telling us to chill out). Still more are just plain panicking. Ive gotten at least a dozen cautionary emails just today from people who are encouraging me to be afraid.But Im an MD, as well as the mother of a small child. I live in coastal California. And my father was a radiologist exposed to more than the usual dose of radiation in his lifetime. And he had two different cancers before dying of a brain tumor at 60 years of age. (Suspicious, yes).But I choose to stay put, skip the iodine supplements, and overcome any fear that might be niggling at me. Im not playing ostrich here. My peaceful calm is based on my own research. And my goal with this post is to be a voice of reason, so I can demonstrate to you why fear is the enemy, much more so than radiation.11 Reasons Not To Panic1. You get more radiation going through security at the airport than youre getting right now on the West Coast. Nuclear Safety Consultant Cham Dallas, professor at the University of Georgia, said on CBS News, The people in California can rest easy. The amount of radiation that youre getting now, or are liable to get in the near future from Japan, would be less than you would get in a TSA screening. Its! just no t a hazard right now. I cant see how thats going to change in the immediate future.2. This is not Chernobyl or Hiroshima. While nuclear reactors are at risk, nothing nuclear has melted down yet. No nuclear bomb has gone off. Dallas said, Right now, and in the immediate future, I cannot possibly see any scenario that would result in any hazardous levels of radioactivity getting to California. Unless this thing really deteriorates a lot more than than is even conceivable right now. So chill out, people. Nothings happening here, right now. And its very unlikely that well ever be at risk from this particular event.3. Japan is VERY VERY VERY far away. 5000ish miles, actually. And radiation leaks from a power plant like this dont usually affect more than a 10-20 mile radius around the power plant. So if youre hanging out right near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant site, get the hell out. Otherwise, stop panicking, send prayers to Japan, and thank your lucky stars that youre safe.4. Radiation doesnt travel well. Radioactive particles dont just hang out at super high doses in clouds of cancer-and-radiation-sickness-inducing concentrations. Things would have to get kind of end of days for us to see even a little bit of it here. Were talking extreme, Jordan Scott, a spokesman for the California Emergency Management Agency told the Los Angeles Times. Were just too far for anything to really reach us. A majority of the materials that would come out of there in a meltdown would dissipate within miles of Japan.5. Some people love to panic. Choose not to jump on the crazy-making bandwagon. West coasters are stockpiling potassium iodide for no good reason. Why is that? Are our lives so friggin boring that we have to create adventure so we can feel like were Jack Bauer in TVs 24? Must we create hysteria just so we know were alive? We di! d this w ith the anthrax scare, when people were stockpiling Cipro. We did it with swine flu, when they were hoarding Tamiflu. Now this. Stop it people. Youre hurting your wallets more than youre helping yourselves.10 Ways to Help JapanNext: 6 more reasons not to panic and what you can do instead
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