Monday, May 9, 2011

500 Million Becquerels of Radioactive Substance Released When TEPCO Opened Unit 1 Doors

Hat Tip: Leakspinner at http://leakspinner.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/500-million-bq-of-radiation-released-today-from-daiichi-reactor-no-1-09-05-11/

Japan Times Reports Today;
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110509x2.html

"By opening the double-entry doors, air containing about 500 million becquerels of radioactive substances is believed to have been released into the atmosphere from the upper part of the No. 1 reactor building, which was damaged in a hydrogen explosion that occurred in the early days of the nuclear crisis."

Becquerel refers to the disintegration per second. So, 1 becquerel = 1 disintegration per second. How much damage to a living organism is caused by a becquerel? The answer to that depends upon the type of radiation.

2.775 becquerel of I-131 = 100 mrem/yr
74 becquerel of Cs-134 = 100 mrem/yr
185 becquerel of Cs-137 = 100 mrem/yr.

THE EPA RECOMMENDS EXPOSURE TO BACKGROUND RADIATIONS SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 100 MREM (millirem) A YEAR

EPA figures that if 10,000 people are exposed to 1 rem (1 Rem = 1,000 millirem) of radiation over a lifetime, cancer rates from that exposure will be 5 to 6

That was just from opening the door folks. How much was released from that fire producing clouds of smoke on the eve of May 7?????

Apparently TEPCO planned the release from unit 1's door's being opened to coincide with winds that pushed the radiation westward. Look out US and Canadian west coast. We should be hit in about 3 days.

Think US nuclear regulators are any better? Think again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/business/energy-environment/08nrc.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/america-s-nuclear-nightmare-20110427

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