WHO: Despite Fukushima’s New Level 7 Status, Risk Assessment For Health Hasn’t Changed

I wish that people would start talking about the radiation risk in more quantitative terms. Yes, it is no Chernobyl, but what does that mean? How did people die from Chernobyl and how will it be different this time?

I estimated something like 300 long term cancers will be predicted, but who knows really. No one else has really looked into it, and the reality is that it’s very high because the cities in the area are quite sizable and a small dose over a large number of people is still very bad. Some people were sure to have gotten 10 mSv and up, which is an unacceptably high number, but won’t particularly have an observable effect on their health, if any.

But anyway, the societal consensus is that radiation, even low-level radiation, should be avoid AS IF it caused cancers based off the likely incorrect extrapolations based on experience with high dose individuals, and either way, in this disaster, people were showered in very high levels of radiation, as opposed to just having a higher baseline.

It’s no Chernobyl, but if the gross exposure turns out to be high such that 100s of fatal cancers are expected, then it seems to me that there is no fundamental difference between the two other than the fact that the government and authorities have greater compassion this time around.