There is a lot of blather, or as XKCD puts it,
discussion of radiation from the Fukushima plants, along with comparisons to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Radiation levels are often described as "x times the normal level” or “y over the legal limit,” which can be pretty confusing.and not just confusing, I might add, but also often inaccurate, when not just plain wrong...
Anyway. XKCD goes on to link a chart made up by a friend who is a reactor operator at Reed (not named for John "Ten Days that Shook the World" Reed), as well as making up his own.
Link to the full-sized chart.
One thing to know is that the published safety limits are wildly pessimistic. The amounts of radiation released thus far in Fukushima are far below realistic safety limits for any in the area except those heroic souls who have been working to prevent worse.
There is a lot of good information in the following threads on Bill Quick's Survival Preps site:
- Banana-Equivalent Dose
- Medical Aspects of Radiation Incidents
- Concerns about fallout from Japan?
- Radiation in Perspective.
The tsunami has killed thousands. Let's concentrate on that, and the earthquake, and stop fretting ourselves over minimal to non-existent threats.
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