The recent events in Japan have heightened American interest in radiation. Most people understand that exposure to radiation is dangerous, but after that the details get a little fuzzy.
The first thing to understand is that not all radiation is the same. Non-ionizing radiation is very familiar: radio waves, heat, and microwaves are all non-ionizing radiation. This type of radiation can excite the atoms in molecules to some extent. Ionizing radiation is of a much higher energy: it can strip electrons from atoms, creating ions, and even split atoms apart. Ionizing radiation is found in X-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet light. Because of its strength, it can harm life by degrading DNA, causing cancer, and by blocking the body’s ability to withstand infection.
The brave nuclear plant workers in Japan are literally risking their lives by attending to the problems caused by the earthquake and tsunami. Each person is outfitted with radiation detectors to monitor exposure to the deadly rays. Radiation sickness is first evidenced by nausea. Depending on the exposure, a person’s body can experience debilitating effects that can permanently cripple or kill the individual. Cancer is commonly found in victims of high exposure. It comes about due to a mutation of a person’s DNA, so that it undergoes uncontrolled division and growth, forming tumors that eventually kill the victim.
Fears in this country are so-far overblown: there has not yet been any significant increase in radiation levels. The Environmental Protection Agency is constantly monitoring radiation levels in the air, in water and rain, and in the milk supply. The latter is of concern because radiation can fall onto grass eaten by cows, thus creating radioactive milk. Residents in Japan living near the crippled nuclear plants have been told not to eat local produce or drink local milk. As of yet, no such problem exists here in America. But terra radiation detectors have been selling like crazy.
Nonetheless, continue monitoring is warranted. The equipment that was used to monitor for nuclear bomb testing is now used to track radiation across the globe. Scientists therefore have a pretty good idea regarding exposure levels for any geographic area. Some people on the West Coast have jumped the gun and self-prescribed iodine tablets in the fear of being contaminated by radiation. Luckily, the fear is not founded in fact, and the U.S. government is committed to continually monitoring radiation levels using the most modern equipment available.
