Skip to main content

John Boice - Fukushima Radiation a Threat?



Epidemiologist John Boice did a superb job this morning on MSNBC tempering overreaction to radiation levels.
Key takeaways:
Dilution and dispersal of radioactive iodine moving away from the Japanese coastline keeps any impact minor.
Sensitive detection equipment in U.S. is picking up insignificant levels of iodine. For example,  iodine levels in milk in the U.S. is 5,000 times below FDA standards.
None of this means that concern should not be directed to the workers at Fukushima.

Comments

Anonymous said…
He used the term "minuscule" so many times i lost count, trying to convince us, you see. LOL! Then he used a banana as an example of something that has radiation that no harm. He's a sorry excuse for making a case.

I'll bet he has moved his family out of harms way. He can take his banana, well..you know. ALL LIES!
Frank Jablonski said…
Hey, Anonymous.

Try thinking.

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/life-is-rad
Frank Jablonski said…
Hey, Anonymous.

Radiation is everywhere, and the best science indicates that there is a level of it below which harm from radiation, if any, is likely exceeded by the benefit from the body's adaptive responses to it.

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/life-is-rad

http://www.angelfire.com/mo/radioadaptive/ramsar.html
Anonymous said…
"the best science" supports rejection of LNT and acceptance of hormesis? Only if you consider Lyndon Larouche better science than UNSCEAR, ICRP, NAS, US NRC ...

When your journal's not peer reviewed, you can publish anything you want. Hence hormesis as a cottage industry.
Brian Mays said…
You're behind the times, Anonymous.

These days, cutting-edge scientific research related to hormesis is published in peer-reviewed journals. Here is an example, and no, it's not published by LaRouche.

Popular posts from this blog

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

What Happens During a Refueling Outage?

You may have noticed over the past few weeks that a number of nuclear plants are shut down for refueling outages or are resuming operations after just returning from one. This type of routine outage usually occurs in the spring or fall when electricity demand is low so that nuclear reactors can replace about one-third of the spent fuel rods with new fuel and conduct other routine maintenance and repairs at the plant. To get a better sense of how refueling works at a nuclear energy facility, I spoke with Marcus Nichol, NEI’s senior project manager for used fuel storage and transportation, and asked him to explain the basics. Why does a nuclear plant need to replace one-third of its fuel? Nichol: The main purpose of a refueling outage is to replace older fuel that is depleted—meaning it can no longer efficiently produce energy from nuclear fission reactions—with new fuel. This “used fuel” has typically been used in the reactor for four-and-a-half to six years before it is pe...

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...