Yeah. I'll not deny that this did get substantially worse than I expected. That said, there is still no legitimate cause for concern in the US. This remains true for quite a variety of reasons, However, the simplest way to express it is that the radiation levels *at the plant boundary* have, since the beginning, maintained levels that are not hazardous to humans on a timescale measured in days. It takes *months* even at that nearby location.

Now, it is true that there have been isotope leaks into the oceans. That is one of the reasons that they were placed there to begin with, so that, in the eventuallity of a major problem, the radioactive isotopes could be dilluted to harmlessness in the ocean, and that remains true. There may be some population kills int he immediate vicinity of the plant, but there is unlikely to be any widespread human or other health concern.

It's also worth noting that that 7 rating covers a *lot* of territory, basically, it's like an insurance company saying a car is "totalled", that can mean anything from this:

http://www.nevblog.com/images/camry-wreck-big.jpg

to this

http://positivepsyche.biz/personal.php (scroll down).


It's also worth noting that a) they are now offering *tours* of chernobyl. It is estimated to have killed fewer than 50 people in total by the WHO, and a more alarmist organization I have never seen.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr38/en/index.html



Essentially, yes, it's worse than I had originally estimated, but it could be 100 million times as bad as it has proven to be and there would *still* be no particularly valid reason for concern in the US.


This is the best source I have seen for the "straight dope" on the situation at the fukushima plant.

http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/information-on-the-japanese-earthquake-and-reactors-in-that-region/

this is a chart that shows relative levels of radiation.
http://xkcd.com/radiation/

Note that the numbers in that chart are in seiverts, that is a biologicaly levelled radiation does unit. You'll see other units used to measure radiation, Rems being a big one, 100 rem is 1 sv. you may also see "curies", curies are a measure of decays per second, here's an explanation of curies.
http://www.fusrapmaywood.com/factsheet/pico.htm


For gods sake, take *nothing* seriously on this issue that comes from *any* media outlet, good or bad. In fact, I advise totally and completely ignoring anything that any traditional news source may have to say on the issue. The quality of the reporting on this has been genuinely horrifying.