[LINK] Still FUD

[Jan Whitaker]

At 04:14 AM 1/04/2011, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
>As ANY radiation can cause cancer, isn't it wise to FUD any radiation?
>It's not irrational to fear and doubt something if it's clearly poison.

Way too extreme. What sort of radiation? Sunlight is radiation. 
Nearly every object on the planet emits radiation.

I think that is what is going on here -- blanket generalisations to a 
public that doesn't have a basic science understanding.

Homework:
http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/03/19/radiation-chart/

Background dose received by an average person over 1 normal day: 10 
microSv (note, I can't replicate the right symbol for micro, 10 to 
the -6 sieverts)
Living in a stone, brick, or concrete building for a year: 70 microSv
Yearly dose from natural potassium in the body: 390 microSv
Normal yearly background dose ~3.65 mSv, where 85% is natural, the 
rest medical processes (milli sievert = 10 to the -3 sieverts)
Chest CT Scan: 6 - 18 mSv
Gastrointestinal series X-ray investigation: 14 mSv
Lowest 1 year dose clearly linked to increased cancer risk: 100 mSv

And if you would like more about what radiation does to the body:
http://people.reed.edu/~emcmanis/radiation.html

Medical science uses radiation as a therapy all the time to cure 
cancer, too, when handled correctly.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation

Seiverts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert
Hourly dose examples:
Per Hour: Average individual background radiation dose: 0.23 Sv/hr 
(0.00023mSv/hr); 0.17 Sv/hr for Australians, 0.34 Sv/hr for Americans

Yearly dose examples:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_radiation>Cosmic radiation (from 
sky) at sea level: 0.24 mSv/year
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestrial_radiation>Terrestrial 
radiation (from ground): 0.28 mSv/year
Natural radiation in the human body: 0.40 mSv/year


Jan



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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