The radiation scare and some facts

The Philippines is again in the limelight at the BBC website when a prank SMS (allegedly from BBC) circulated here telling people that an acid rain from Japan will fall at 4PM last Monday. Some took it seriously so that drugstores were amazed at the sales of their iodine, the "medicine" to use to avoid thyroid cancer as a result of that radiation.

A government university even cancelled their classes and sent their students home.

In view of the radiation scare generated by the nuclear plants that were damaged in Japan during the strong earthquake last week, I am copying in full the text provided by Reuters on how much radiation should we take in for it to be considered fatal. Let us all be informed.

How much radiation is dangerous?

March 16 (Reuters) - Radiation levels in Japan remained a huge worry on Wednesday following explosions and fires at the Fukushima power plant. But there has been no indication that people away from the plant's immediate vicinity have been exposed to harmful amounts.

In Tokyo, only very insignificant amounts -- one that pose no danger -- have been detected.

Here are some facts about the health dangers posed by radiation:

• On Tuesday evening, radiation levels around Tokyo were less than 1 microsievert. While that is nearly 10 times normal readings, experts say that amount of radiation is very minimal and even smaller than a dental x-ray, which is about 10 microsieverts.
• Even if a person was exposed to that level of radiation in Tokyo all year round, that amounts to about one-third of the radiation from a single organ CT scan.
• People are constantly exposed to some level of natural radiation. They get exposed to tiny amounts through sitting in airplanes, routine chest or dental X-rays, and larger amounts through medical tests such as CT-scans and MRIs.
• Depending on the flight route, flying at a height of 40,000 feet exposes the passenger to radiation of between 3 and 9 microsieverts per hour -- far more than the levels seen in Tokyo so far.
• Generally, people are exposed to about 1 to 10 millisieverts of radiation a year from natural background radiation, caused by radioactive substances in the air and soil. One thousand microsieverts make 1 millisievert.
• A whole body CT scan, for example, gives a radiation dose of 20 to 30 millisieverts, while a single organ CT involves a dose of less than 10 millisieverts.
• Radiation is measured using the unit sievert, which quantifies the amount absorbed by human tissues. One sievert is 1,000 millisieverts.
• On Wednesday morning, levels at the Fukushima plant reached 10 millisieverts an hour before falling to around 3 millisieverts, Kyodo News Service quoted Japan's nuclear safety agency as saying. Early on Tuesday, the level peaked at 400 millisieverts an hour -- 20 times the annual exposure for some nuclear-industry employees and uranium miners.

Below are different levels of radiation exposure -- all measured in millisieverts -- and their likely effects on humans, as published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

• Exposure to 50-100 millisieverts: changes in blood chemistry.
• 500: nausea, within hours.
• 700: vomiting
• 750: hair loss, within 2-3 weeks
• 900: diarrhoea
• 1,000: haemorrhage
• 4,000: possible death within 2 months, if no treatment
• 10,000: destruction of intestinal lining, internal bleeding and death within 1-2 weeks
• 20,000: damage to the central nervous system and loss of consciousness within minutes, and death within hours or days.

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THIS WAS THE HOAX MESSAGE CIRCULATED IN THE PHILIPPINES

BBC Flash news : Japan Government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. If rain comes, remain indoors first 24 hours. Close doors and windows. Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions. Radiation may hit Philippine at around 4 pm today. If it rains today or in the next few days in Hong Kong. Do not go under the rain. If you get caught out, use an umbrella or raincoat, even if it is only a drizzle. Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.
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Should a nuclear fallout is imminent, here is a comprehensive guide on what to do. Please read PREPARING FOR NUCLEAR FALLOUT.

What is a SIEVERT?

Photo from postershowcase.info

Prayers no longer needed

When the earthquake struck in Japan this afternoon I was not minding the news because I thought it was the same earthquake that struck them yesterday and I was also too busy doing a serious project. But when I checked my Twitter account, I was suddenly transported into that place.

Frankly, I was literally shivering when I saw the online feeds and cried later when the tsunami struck in certain parts of that nation, even reaching 10 kilometers inland. Subsequent tsunami warnings were given to the whole Asia Pacific region.

I was reminded of my dear friends there in Japan and I hope they were doing fine.

Consequently, several unwanted text messages kept my phone busy, telling me to pray as if the tremor in Japan could be undone if I pray. Of course, this was a commercial action from enterprising companies and individuals riding on the disaster to gain financially. Or from some zealous Christians who could think of nothing but blame the sins of the world for the disaster.

How insensitive! Or idiotic?

I don't think prayers would help now but are rather useless. What can you do?

However, immediate actions are rather necessary for those affected like helping residents or sending monetary donations to Japan. Can you believe that there are about 400,000 Filipinos in Japan? Helping and donating are noble causes worth pursuing. These are better than kneeling down and blame people for disasters.

Good luck to all of us. 

Pictures grabbed from several website sources.

Indonesia suffers too!

That eternally harassing, tantalizing future. Mystery! We will all eventually arrive there - willing or unwilling, with all our soul and body. And too often it proves to be a great despot. And so, in the end, I arrived too. Whether the future is a kind or a cruel god is, of course, its own affair. Humanity too often claps with just one hand. ~Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian writer

Two natural disasters, no, make that 3 disasters hit Indonesia this week. An earthquake of 7.7 magnitude triggered a tsunami that killed at least a hundred and hundreds more missing. Mount Merapi, the most volatile volcano in that part of the country has started to erupt displacing villages. The natural calamities struck Indonesia in just within 24 hours.

What if it happened to us? (Knock on wood!) Will we be able to recover? 

Let us also pray for them.