Chris Busby and Low Level Radiation Campaign claims the danger from fallout far worse than claimed.

[Arcana]

Maybe some of you have come across this already:

http://www.llrc.org/index.html

http://www.llrc.org/fukushima.htm#health

This site is making the claim that those in the areas receiving fallout, even the west coast must bunker in their homes, seal up cracks, drink only bottled water, and have a stash of food, along with a Geiger counter and even iodide tablets.

The worry is mainly due to particles of plutonium and uranium that can emit alpha particles if ingested and inhaled, wreaking havoc within the body. The claim is that the model used by the government and many other groups to measure whether an area has a "safe" amount of radiation is grossly outdated. According to the site, normal Geiger counters cannot detect alpha particles.

One of the head scientists for the group is Christopher Busby, who says he has studied long-term effects of low-level radiation around the Chernobyl site and recommends taking Potassium Iodide due to his prior experience studying a rapid increase in thyroid cancer.

I currently live in Southern Arizona. The radioactive plume models predict it may already be here, though possibly much less than Southern California by passing through many mountain ranges and that there are areas of California that have a tendency to concentrate pollution(even in the Central Valley where lots of agriculture in the U.S is grown).

I am posting this because I would like to hear your feedback on this, if you have any doubts, know anything on Busby, or can confirm or debunk anything here.

[leveymg]

1. This doesn't appear to be accurate.

Evidence so far is that neither the plutonium rods (MOX) in Bldg. 3 and the containment pool behind it nor the enriched uranium rods in the other reactors have been vaporized, so the danger of alpha and beta particle emissions is minimal. Plutonium is primarily an alpha particle emitter.

Both alpha and beta particles are dangerous if inhaled or ingested, but are easily shielded by even light clothing or plastic. Gamma radiation is penetrating radiation. Close to a strong emitting source, such as the interior of a reactor, gamma rays can penetrate thick lead shielding. Neutron emissions are also highly penetrating. Both gamma and neutron emissions have a very limited range at which they are dangerous to unprotected persons.

Fallout from a nuclear bomb blast contains fine particles of the plutonium and/or highly-enriched uranium that made up the fissible bomb core, along with irradiated ground materials put up into the atmosphere by the blast. Windborne fallout from a nuclear bomb blast can be dangerous far from the source, depending upon the type of bomb.

However, the airborne particles that are strong emitters are not present in the plume from the burning plant -- so far, as there has yet to be meltdown or vaporization of the reactor fuel rods. The radioactive vapor cloud that has been emitted from the Japanese plant is not nearly as lethal -- in rads emitted -- as the fallout from a nuclear weapon explosion.

What appears to have happened so far -- and this could change if there is an actual meltdown -- is that the exposed rods have gotten hot enough to melt the protective outer layer of zirconium cladding, which liberated hydrogen, the ignition of which blew out the walls of the secondary containment buildings. That caused steam and smoke emitted from fires and boiling coolant inside the remains of the containment structures to escape, which is moving with the prevailing winds toward the US West Coast. The dosages at that distance will not be lethal and will likely be below the level that is known to elevate cancer rates.

Unless there is a meltdown of a significant number of rods, I do not believe there will be a serious potential health impact in the United States.

[Arcana]

3. Thanks, though...

what kind of record does Busby have? He seems credible from his record but I'm not sure.

I would also like to ask if there is also a dosage thing when it comes to radioactive isotopes themselves. I understand that naturally occurring uranium particles do exist in trace amounts in soil and therefore in food, so this is why I am doubting.

Also of course the issue isn't gamma radiation but the inhalation and ingestion of particles.

Also, what do you know of the model that is used to asses safety, is it really outdated?

[Turbineguy]

2. Maybe he just

wants a mention on Glenn Beck.

[Arcana]

4. Does he have any connections to Republicans?