So, Gonzomax… If you’re so worried about the destructive effects of radiation, have you had your basement checked for radon levels? I hope you don’t live in a high altitude city, or ride the subways.
Here are some typical radiation exposure levels of every day things:
Radon in your basement: 160 millirems per year.
Living in Denver: 130 additional millirems per year from cosmic rays
Working in Grand Central Station: 120 millirems per year from the granite
CT scan: 300-2000 millirems
Chest X-ray: 10-20 millirems
Extra radiation received during 2 hour airline flight: 5 millirems
Average radiation dose per year from all sources: 360 millirems
And I really, really hope you’re a non-smoker. Because smoking can cause trace amounts of polonium and radon to collect in your lungs, giving you up to 700 millirems of additional radiation exposure per year per pack smoked each day.
And now…
Maximum radiation dose potentially received by anyone living near Three Mile Island during or after the accident: 100 millirems.
Health effects of any kind found after an extensive, 30 year study of the population around Three Mile Island: ZERO.
People are afraid of radiation because they don’t understand it. A single CT scan of the torso will hit you with about 20 times the radiation in a couple of minutes than anyone could possibly have received from the Three Mile Island reactor, even at the height of the emergency.