High levels of radioactivity prompted Japanese authorities to slap a warning on food products near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Sunday. Radioactive Cesium 137 and Iodine 131 were both found in spinach and milk.
Also low levels of radiation were found in tap water. Thus the medical implications for the worst nuclear disaster since 1986 continue to broaden- at least in terms of public perception. But is the danger real?
Professor Jim Smith, a specialist in earth and environmental sciences at Britain's Portsmouth University studied the effects of radiation on those exposed in the Chernobyl catastrophe for over 20 years and concluded the increased risk for fatal cancer was about 1%- the same increased risk from living in a very polluted city.
In addition, a 2002 study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh found that Twenty-five years after 3 Mile Island there was no increase in cancer deaths.
Yet, a 2006 United Nations study found those exposed to radiation, any radiation, were 3-4 times more likely to have vague, unexplained symptoms and complain of poor health than those who weren’t.
Professor Smith and others have concluded that the stress, fear and panic that accompany exposure to radiation is actually worse than the likelihood of developing a physical problem because of it. Thus in this case, FDR’s statement that there is nothing to fear but fear itself is completely true. But the question remains: what is it about radiation that is so terrifying?
Simply put radiation is invisible, insidious and an individual exposed has absolutely no warning that anything is amiss. It’s effects are exerted years or even decades later, setting up a constant set of what if scenarios to replay endlessly in our mind.
It’s responsible for mushroom clouds, untold horror in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the feared ‘WMD’ moniker and is used in treating cancer with known, brutal side effects. Few of us understand it or how it affects us and no matter how healthy and strong we are, we fear that it can penetrate us and damage us in unknown and unimaginable ways.
It’s the sum total of all our fears, the perfect storm for panic, dread and horror. And let’s face it, as a society we love to worry and fear the worst and with 24-7 news coverage pounding out every worst case scenario imaginable, it’s oh so easy to fall prey to the sky is falling hype.
So what can you do to allay this psychological dread? As in all things knowledge is power and the key to knowledge is education. Understand that unless you are within 200 miles or so of an actual, nuclear event the chance of having any consequences at all is virtually nil.
So if you live near a nuclear reactor, then by all means stock up on drinking water, Potassium Iodide and food to prepare for a potential disaster IN YOUR AREA. But otherwise, say a prayer for the people in northern Japan and understand that short of WW III, the chances that you will ever have to deal with radiation exposure in your lifetime are slim.
If you must worry about something that is decreasing your potential life span, then your time and effort would be much better spent thinking about the pollution in your city, second hand smoke, and high cholesterol.
