Potassium Iodide as radiation protection for the thyroid

amm0bob, amm0bob, amm0bob. I do know that the jet stream exists....and I know that it's a very helpful thing for flying long distances. You might have real experience with the jet stream, but we're talking about gasses in the troposphere. Please cite "this data" that exists for fallout from a reactor hitting the stratosphere.

 

While you seem to be leaning toward some catastrophic rise in the radiation levels that will hit the States is not a concern, and I am not in disagreement with that opinion, I do know the jet stream will carry the radiation here.

Will it be enough to make me need to get the iodine out... no... I do think it will be diluted by the time it hits home... yet still measurable far above the baseline prior to the powerplant reactor failures.

As for citations about how the jet stream works... look it up yourself Bra... hell... during WWII the Japanese Army used balloons in the jet stream to hit our Nation with bombs... I don't think that is to different in theory than the releases that's happening now, except they aren't intentionally trying to inflict harm on our country.

 

That's not what I asked amm0bob. I am well aware of how the jet stream works and are used with balloons and airplanes (even going back as far as WWII). There was never a dispute that the jet stream is present and does present a fast flowing current of air. What I asked is any evidence of reactor fallout actually hitting the jet stream: I haven't found any evidence to the fact....and that makes the discovery of the "fallout" map being just a "jet stream" map relevant for being bogus. The Chernobyl radiation distribution doesn't look anything like a jetstream map, for example. And that's with good reason, as nuclear fallout (especially from a nuclear power plant) does not go straight up right into the stratosphere (and then does not get fast distribution throughout the globe). If you aren't scared of radiation reaching the US...this is a good reason why there won't be significant radiation coming near the US.

 

Of the reactors that have gone tits-up... how many are actually under the jet... my guess is this is the first time... and thus, we will see evidence of increased radiation levels in the next few days here on the west coast.

 

Well we'll see....I haven't heard Fukushima reaching the same level as Chernobyl. Some are saying Fukushima is a level 4....Chernobyl was 7: Japanese authorities are saying reactor 3 emitted 400 mSv/h and 4 emitted 100 (radiation sickness happens at 1000...Chernobyl was 300,000). Chernobyl was also above ground and more likely to distribute high into the atmosphere.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_I_nuclear_accidents"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_I_nuclear_accidents[/ame]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Radiation_levels

 

Ummmm Dave...

You can say bob bob bob... or come-on now Jr... and I will get it too Bra...


You don't need to spend as much time typing as you did to get my attention... just trying to be helpful...

 

Alright...I'll say Bob in the future Anyhow, my points have been that from all indication, the Japanese nuclear disasters are not looking to be anywhere near what Chernobyl was....so I find the risk for any radiation reaching the states astronomically small. I think instead of worrying about ourselves, we should worry for the Japaneseeace:

 

The official line from the govt WILL be understated... how long did it take for the Russians to admit it, much less give accurate information about the events... I'm thinking this one will develop along the same lines.

 

Time will tell....I suspect that if there are casualties from the plant failures....it will pale in comparison (many, many, many times over) then what the final total death toll estimate is for the area. I can't imagine seeing towns devistated with 200-1000 bodies floating in the water

 

Right now, with their admission they may have some MOX in the fires in #4... I don't want to say it won't be as bad... yet.

And it isn't really astronomically small... but since we do have a lot of water between us, it ain't going to be the same as happened in the incident that we remember changing the heart of Europe.

 

China might have to worry, but I do assert that it's still pretty astronomically small that significant radiation levels are going to reach here. It's true that it will take time to get all the info straight. Like I heard the MOX fuel was only used in the Toshiba reactor (which is unit 3). Unit 4 was supposed to have already been shut down and defueled. :noidea: For now, I'll wait and see and not be suckered into buying supplements...

 

Six pages in and still a lot of missing information. Let me see if I can fill in some of the pieces:

1) Iodine is the name of the element, which exists in the form of I2, or two iodine atoms joined together. In this form it is very toxic: as little as two grams can kill.

When Iodine picks up a negative electron, which it is inclined to do, it forms the more stable iodide ion, written as I-.

The general term, iodine, is used collectively for all aspects of dietary, medical, and environmental iodine, where the actual molecular forms are of secondary importance.

Most iodine in the human body is in the thyroid gland, where it is converted into two hormones: thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine. An iodine deficiency will produce goiter. Too much iodine will result in hyperthyroidism. At even higher levels it becomes toxic, interfering with female fertility.

You body naturally collects iodine, which is where iodine pills come into play in the event of nuclear fallout. Radioactive iodine will be collected by your body and stored in the thyroid, and to a lesser extent the salivary glands and stomach. This carries an obvious cancer risk. Taking iodine pills can saturate the body's ability to absorb iodine, causing less of the radioactive iodine to be absorbed.

2) The reactors in question are Gen 3 & 4 units, each contained in a Mark 1 containment system. These are old units. They lack the newer passive safety systems, which means they need power to stay cool.

3) For radiation to be carried by the jet stream, it needs to get up to the jet stream. Normally this takes a big explosion. Nuclear bombs can do this. Chernobyl also had a huge explosion. This occurred for two reasons: 1) The Chernobyl plant was running above full power when the accident occurred, and 2) The Chernobyl reactor was an entirely different design, involving graphite and no containment system.

The Chernobyl reactor could only be built in the former Soviet Union. Even at the time it was built, it was considered a highly dangerous design by western standards.

The Japanese reactors automatically shut down during the earthquake. They lack the power to produce a Chernobyl type explosion. It is extremely unlikely that they can get any radiation up into the jet stream. It is more likely that they will cause local and ground water contamination.

Tom

 

No Worries... Tom...

 

The unspecified worst outcome of the burning spent fuel rods is ???

quote: the physics would be exactly the same in the case of a loss of coolant from a natural disaster, said Kevin Crowley, director of the nuclear and radiation studies board at the National Academies, who headed the study.
The potential for a worst-case outcome in any kind of incident depends on how closely the rods are packed, the age of the rods, the size of the pool and how much fuel is in the pool, Crowley said.
Japan earthquake, nuclear crisis: Fire reignites in reactor at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant - latimes.com

 

So give that the plant is right next to the Ocean?

 

The former Soviet Union was in the habit of routinely dumping spent fuel, indeed entire reactor assemblies, at sea

Nuclear wastes in the Arctic : an ... - Google Books

Dumping of radwaste at sea - Bellona

I would strongly advise anybody in North America from taking potassium iodide as a "precaution" due to events in Japan. The health risks can be significant

Of course, during the post office anthrax scare, folks somehow obtained ciprofloxicin - usually from Mexico - and started popping cipro as a "precaution."

 

I've heard drugstores here have been ordered to stop selling it, after panic buying caused a surge in sales.

 

I'm not sure I understand your comment? Are you saying that the reactors did not SCRAM? Or perhaps this photo suggests a reactor explosion similar to Chernobyl. I'm not sure what you are driving at, so I will assume that it is one of those two. Correct me if I am wrong.

Addressing the first case, the reactors did SCRAM. What many people don't realize is that nuclear reactors produce heat even when shut down. The reaction continues, but at a low level. This heat still needs to be removed to avoid a melt-down. With these older reactors, power is needed to circulate cooling water. Some forms of reactors use passive cooling, but not these.

Addressing the second case, the explosion pictured above is not even close to the level of Chernobyl. This one was caused by rapid combustion of entrapped hydrogen, very much like a natural gas explosion. The explosion was outside of the containment vessel, not inside, and it lacked the power to breach containment. It would ruin your day if you were near it, but it poses little nuclear threat, other than making it hard to get cooling water to the site.

It's not much of a global threat. If the core does burn through, it will rapidly reach a depth where it can't contaminate the ocean. There would be a transition period where coastal waters could be affected, which would be bad for Japan, but the heavier nucleotides would have a hard time getting very far. Mostly this will be a problem for Japan.

Tom

 

The cladding splitting and the contaminated fission products being spewed in the local area. It's more of a question of scale. A couple of assemblies splitting is bad, but manageable. Hundreds or more splitting is going to be incredible difficult to clean up without spreading some of the contamination. The worst case here is a "great many" splitting. Massive uncertainty here will be the case for some time.

Secondary issues such as fires spreading contaminated smoke or fire water washing the contamination to the outside of the plant would also be factors that could seriously complicate the problems.

 

Glad ya came back Tom...

Great points too BTW...


Ummmm... did the SCRAM stop the meltdown from happening...

Ummmmmm... did I say it was Chernobyl, or Chernobylish...

Ummmmmmmm... did I say the picture was something other than what it was...


Ummmmm... did I say it's a global catastrophe... :nono::nono:

I said Japan is sooooo hosed.

I also said the radiation will be coming over rather quickly due to the jet stream...

Am I gonna put on some iodine to save my old nice person... :nono::nono:


As for the reason I posted up the picture... it's to prove there is nothing to worry about... right... you know there is more explosions than that one right... and you know the spent rods caught afire too right...

Nothing to worry about Bra... especially for the folks living there... that's the line...



Helicopters dump water on nuclear plant in Japan - CNN.com

Just saying... it is bad Bra.