Sunday, June 05, 2011

In other things we don't hear much about any more...

Not looking good in Japan:

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday it has detected radiation of up to 4,000 millisieverts per hour in the building housing the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant...

The radiation is so high now that any worker exposed to it would absorb the maximum permissible dose of 250 millisieverts in only about four minutes. Tepco said there is no plan to place workers in that area of the plant and said it will carefully monitor any developments.

5 comments:

Montag said...

That's after TEPCO increased the maximum allowable dosage. By comparison, the international standard for nuclear plant workers is about 100 millisieverts every five years.

At those rates, workers would experience radiation sickness after about fifteen minutes exposure, and a 50% LEL (50% of those exposed will die in a month) of 5000 millisieverts in about an hour and fifteen minutes).

Sounds as if it's time for TEPCO to start ponying up for a shitload of concrete....

StonyPillow said...

Atoms for Peace.

jimmiraybob said...

Montag,

I assume that LEL = lethal exposure limit?

Montag said...

Yup, usually expressed as a percentage--it's more or less the borderline for average people--half die within a month, half don't, at a given exposure.

IIRC, 6000 millisieverts was the average dose received by everyone who died at Chernobyl, so 5000 is right close to the edge....

pansypoo said...

solar and wind is looking awfully CHEAP now, eh?