Post by Hyper Kinetic on Mar 18, 2011 11:14:50 GMT
Unlike the suns radiation... radiation from a nuclear reactor actually can harm a womans eggs
...
If radiation from a melt down does not come in harmful levels, why are they making sure the levels of radiation are down in there citizens in Japan and testing them for there levels? Obviously someone must think it isn't good for you... And there hasn't even been a meltdown.
Radiation from the sun still harms you. That's what Skin Cancer usually is caused by. And that's from comparatively weak radiation that you (usually) get every day.
Furthermore, I have not read of any proof (positive or negative) that solar radiation can not harm pregnancies. See below about Flight radiation... then apply it to pregnant women flying (and realise that this is one of the reasons pregnant women are advised not to fly).
Why are they testing for radiation? Because it potentially harms people. We know this.
However...
If you want to eliminate many common radiation sources, you also have to eliminate power plants that burn things, X-Ray and CT machines, smoking and flying.
- As I noted earlier, Coal Fired plants send radioactive by-products in to the atmosphere.
- X-Ray and CT machines are one of the leading sources of radiation exposure to the public. One Chest X-Ray series, for example, gives you as much exposure as you will get normally get from background radiation in several days (more for larger people, because they need significantly more exposure to give a decent picture). CT machines will give you several months to several years worth of radiation in one sitting (depending on what is being examined). Let's not get started on Radiotherapy.
- Want to know part of the reason why Smokers get cancer? It could be something to do with the fact that cigarette smoke contains radioactive particles (Lead210 and Polonium210).
- How can Flying increase your radiation dose? With less atmosphere above you, there is less protection from solar radiation. A 7-8 hour flight is equivalent to one chest X-Ray. In fact, most commercial pilots receive significantly higher radiation doses than radiation workers. Now... just imagine how many people fly out of any major airport per day and how much excess radiation that is...
So... if all of that is so, why do we persist with keeping all of them?
Aside from smoking, it is because they are all beneficial to people.
Without Coal Power, a very solid portion of the world stops.
Without X-Rays and CTs, a major portion of your health care system will disappear.
We technically don't really need flight... but many many people find that this is an inconvenience.
I see your point:
Nuclear Power does have a very "Fail Deadly" switch. It's perfectly fine when running, but if something goes wrong it can wipe out entire regions.
So... the real question is whether or not the potential for disaster is worth the gain from the potential many years of cheap and comparatively "clean" energy.
To me, I think that it is worth it... if sensibly placed and well regulated and monitored.
