[ExI] Fukushima now officially an emergency

[BillK]

On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 9:56 PM, Anders Sandberg  wrote:
> Loads. It has a volume of 2.8 billion cubic kilometres. At 0.0000033 g
> uranium per kilogram of water, that is 180 million kilograms of uranium.
> That is still 1.3 million kilograms of uranium 235 if you just count that.
> Any human reactor, even if dumped straight in, is insignificant compared to
> this.
>
> The issue is mixing. You don't want a lot of active isotopes near your coast
> and your fisheries.
>
>

Well, yes, I think that's what I meant. Absorb, in the sense of
assimilating without causing damage. I have also had the same feeling
about accidents like Chernobyl, or accidental releases of radiation
over land areas. The authorities make claims that the radiation
disperses widely and causes little damage. My worry is that they are
talking about average statistics and ignoring hotspots or highly
radioactive particles. On average there might be little risk, but if
you breathe in a hot particle then you are likely to get lung cancer
years later.  For those affected, it is like being slightly dead, (or
slightly pregnant). 0.05% deaths are 100% to those that die.

BillK