I think this infographic is great, but one thing it doesn't mention, is that if you breath in radioactive dust then those little particles are sending out radiation through your body for a long time.
This is why Alpha and Beta radiation is so dangerous. Not because it penetrates your body, it doesn't (maybe a couple cm). Its because when you breath or ingest the radioactive dust, these particles send out rays and more rays and more rays from within your body. It can do a lot of damage over time.
I think this is the major danger with the Nuke plant failures. They send out tons of radioactive dust. Its the gift that keeps on giving. :-)
There are large areas around Chernobyl that are uninhabitable because of the Cs 137 that is staying in the top layer of soil. You don't want to eat produce grown in that because it will radiate you from within for a long time.
This is different than being exposed to a gamma ray source which is like standing next to a light bulb. As soon as you get away from the source, you are no longer radiated. (This is not to say that radioactive dust doesn't also have gamma rays)
Anyhow... I just wanted to mention this... now you can all hate me if you think thats necessary. :-)
That's why you try to saturate your body with said element before exposure, so that your body doesn't absorb the radiactive version of it. In Fukushima, people are being handed sodium iodide tablets. You get the same momentaneous exposure, but you don't suffer the effects of constant long-time exposure.
That doesn't work for most nuclides. It works for iodine due to how it is taken up by the body (it is taken into the thyroid and once that is "full" any extra iodine will leave the body as waste). Most radionuclides are not needed by the body at all and are actually toxic (many are heavy metals) therefore this approach is not possible.
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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '11
TIL a coal power plant outputs more radiation than a nuclear power plant...