33045963
submission
JSBiff writes:
A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative.
The study, led by Bevin Engelward and Jacquelyn Yanch and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that when mice were exposed to radiation doses about 400 times greater than background levels for five weeks, no DNA damage could be detected.
31224237
submission
JSBiff writes:
Ars Technica is reporting on a study by NOAA scientists who surveyed the ocean near Fukushima, which concludes that while a lot of radioactivity was released into the water, as would be expected, it dilluted out to levels that pose little risk to wildlife or humans, and that the seafood is safe to eat.
Perhaps we needn't worry so much about "millions of gallons of radioactive water" being released into the ocean, like it's a major environmental disaster, as it's really not — the ocean is many orders of magnitude larger than any accidental release of radiation which might happen from a nuclear plant.
24390150
submission
JSBiff writes:
Bloomberg, among others, is reporting that the Japanese govt has partially lifted the evacuation order, allowing residents to return to 5 towns previously in the evacuation zone. Additionally, a key milestone has been reached in achieving a full "cold shutdown" of the damaged reactors — the temperature of all three reactors has dropped below 100 deg. C.
It's a shame that they were unable to return home for 6 months, and for people who lived closer to the plant, they might never be allowed to return home. Now the question is, will residents actually *want* to return, other than to maybe retrieve stuff they left behind?
