How Japanese Scientists Are Monitoring Fukushima Babies For Radiation Exposure 95
KentuckyFC writes "Parents in the Fukushima region of Japan are intensely worried that their children may be consuming food and water contaminated with radiation. But whole body scanners used to monitor the internal radiation levels of adults don't work for children who cannot stand up inside them. What's more, the machines are not sensitive enough to detect problematic radiation levels in children. That's because children metabolize substances faster than adults and have a lower mass to start with, so the levels of radiation in their bodies tend to be lower. For example, if each adult ingests 3 Becquerels of cesium-137 every day, the internal levels would reach an equilibrium of about 400 Bq/adult body. But a similar intake for a 1-year old child would result in an equilibrium level of about 60 Bq/body, well below the 250 Bq/body sensitivity of adult scanners. Now a team of engineers has built a whole body scanner that is sensitive enough for the job and that children can play inside for the 4 minutes necessary to scan them. And they say the results of the first 100 scans of Fukushima children (average age 4.2 years) are reassuring--none show any evidence of cesium-137. So far."
Re:Exposure .... (Score:5, Informative)
The anti-nuclear crowd like to terrorise people with irrational fear.
Re:Well done, for gamma. How about alpha and beta? (Score:5, Informative)
They are looking for specific material - cesium137. It emits approximately 95% beta and 5% gamma. That is why they had problems looking for it in babies - they basically look for that 5% and calculate the entire exposure based on it.
Re: Did you not read the newspapers? (Score:2, Informative)
The person you replied to was being disingenuous. Because Tepco and the Japanese government have never officially stated that the reactors melted down, then of course (by the GP's logic), no meltdown occurred. Just some little hydrogen explosions.
Never mind that the reactors went without coolant for days, I'm sure the nuclear fuel is just fine and dandy, and the reactors could probably be started back up any time they want.
But yes, at any rate, at least 3 of the reactors at least partially melted down. They have been leaking radioactive coolant into the sea going on three years now. That's the reality of the situation, whether or not some people choose to ignore it.
Re:Exposure .... (Score:4, Informative)
No statistically significant increase in major birth defects or other untoward pregnancy outcomes was seen among children of survivors. [www.rerf.jp]
By the way, a significant portion of fertilized eggs or embryos (up to half of them? [nih.gov]) isn't viable because of genetic or developmental defects and they get spontaneously miscarried. This happens naturally, without any anthropogenic radiation or radioisotopes.