U.S. Radiation Risk

U.S. Radiation Risk

Radiation threats to the US

With reports that a radiation plume from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant could reach Southern California, worried citizens have been hoarding certain pills , wondering if it's OK to go outside and otherwise fretting over an invisible, and somewhat unpredictable, threat.

But all that worrying might cause more harm than the radiation itself, experts say. Here are some answers to common concerns.

Possible levels of radiation

Q: How much radiation do scientists think will arrive here?

Answer

Details: No one knows yet -- but probably not a whole lot. It's unclear what's happening at the Japanese power plant -- and whatever radiation escapes has to travel thousands of miles to reach U.S. shores.  Over that distance, it will be greatly diluted, if it gets here at all.

In fact, the winds have been shifting, often pointing back westward to Japan rather than to the U.S., California officials said in a news conference Thursday. "We are not in Japan," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County. "We are not within 10 miles of the reactor."

How much risk?

Q: How much risk will any radiation that does reach here pose?

Answer

Details: Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an independent agency that regulates U.S. commercial nuclear power plants, said the basic science involved suggested that "there can't be any risk or harm to anyone here in the United States, or Hawaii, or any of the other (U.S.) territories."

Dr. Kei Iwamoto, of the faculty of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he believed the amount of radiation from Japan that a person in California might be exposed to will be very low -- perhaps around one microsievert.

Chernobyl & radiation

Q: Did radiation reach here from Chernobyl?

Answer

Details: "The radiation from the accident was negligible from a health standpoint. I know of no evidence that that accident caused any increase in cancer in this country," Iwamoto said.

Children & radiation

Q: What about kids? Are they more sensitive to radiation?

Answer

Details: "Kids are more vulnerable to radiation for a couple of reasons," said Dr. William Hendee, a radiation physicist with the Medical College of Wisconsin. "Their organs and tissues are growing and developing. Growing and developing cells are more susceptible to radiation. Kids also have a longer life span."

Q: So should they be kept away from school?

Answer: No. Radiation levels are not likely to get very high. There is no reason to keep children out of school.

Iodine tablets vs. iodized salt

Q: Should people take iodine tablets or eat iodized salt? It can't hurt, can it?

Answer

Details: The tablets can be risky for some people -- especially pregnant women. There is no reason to take iodine tablets at this point, said California officials.

Do masks help?

Q: Would wearing a mask help?

Answer

Details: "Masks would reduce a bit of the inhalation, but the amount of radioactive fallout is going to be so tiny," Hendee said. "For someone who is concerned or worried, if they felt better wearing a mask, they should wear a mask. I don't think it will reduce their risk, because the risk is already so low."

Authorities' contingency plans

Q: What contingency plans do local and national health authorities have?

Answer

Details: Although national health authorities defer to state governments, they will issue recommendations based on the severity of radiation levels, said Robert Taylor, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Possible recommendations include evacuating areas within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant; warning people to take shelter and close all doors and windows; and advising residents to consume potassium iodide tablets. "There's no need for U.S. citizens to take any protective measures at this time," he added.

Safety & radiation

Q: What can people do to be safer?

Answer

 

Details: Until more is known about the threat that radiation from the nuclear plant might pose in California and beyond, your best bet is to get yourself prepared -- for any expected emergency. Assemble your earthquake kit. Install gas shut-off valves, if your house doesn't already have them. "Rather than going out and buying potassium iodide, I would encourage everyone to go out and buy three to five days of food and water, so that when we have our earthquake, you can be self-sufficient," said Howard Backer, interim director of the California Department of Public Health.

 

Most of all, address the health threats that you can control. According to the federal government, almost 1.5 million Americans die each year of heart disease or tobacco-related diseases. The best bang for your buck might be throwing away cigarettes, exercising and improving your diet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Specials

Plastic Surgery Deaths

Sometimes plastic surgery in the quest for the perfect body can have fatal effects.

With details of a recent cosmetic surgery-related death still unfolding, we recall other news-making fatalities that have been linked to the quest for the perfect body. Claudia Seye Aderotimi

Twenty-year-old Aderotimi, a Londoner visiting the States, died February 8 of complications stemming from an unlicensed cosmetic procedure performed in an unorthodox setting. Aderotimi was said to have paid more than $1,000 for the procedure. Police are searching for a suspect whose background is musical, not medical.

Lidvian Zelaya

At the end of December 2010, 35-year-old Zelaya died of cardiac arrest after checking in for two procedures at a Southern Florida facility. The exact cause of death is still unknown.

Wang Bei

Chinese singer Wang Bei, 24, suffered respiratory and circulatory failure in November 2010 after she reportedly sought a facial enhancement. She came into the public eye as a contestant of an American Idol-style show. The exact cause of death is swamped in rumors.

Solange Magnano

In 2009, the former South American beauty queen, modeling agency head and mother died of a pulmonary embolism at age 37. Her death was linked to gluteoplasty.

Rohie Kah-Orukotan

This 37-year-old mother of three — who was no stranger to medical practice — went to a Florida facility for liposuction in 2009. There, she experienced seizures and was rushed to a hospital, with disastrous results.

Maritess Lopez

Lopez died at age 36 after obtaining a "mommy makeover" in 2008. Her Virginia Beach doctor released her an hour after the procedure, but she began experiencing adverse side effects at home.

Donda West

The death of this scholar and mother of a hip-hop star made huge headlines in 2007. The 58-year-old had gone to a high profile surgeon to have a tummy tuck and breast reduction and died of a heart attack the next day. Though the procedure may have played a role in her death, the coroner ruled out wrongdoing.

Olga Arroyo

In 2007, 41-year-old Arroyo, a New Jersey police officer, underwent plastic surgery in a private home at the hands of an unlicensed Colombian native. She died on the scene from a fatal injection.

Kathleen Kelly Cregan

In 2005, Cregan secretly traveled from her home abroad, with the intent of surprising her husband with a new look given by a New York City doctor. (How did she hear of him?) She went into cardiac arrest hours after the procedure and died at age 42.

Olivia Goldsmith

The best-selling author of this book-turned-film checked into a Manhattan clinic in 2004. Goldsmith wanted a chin-tuck — one of many procedures she'd sought from the same doctor — but went into a coma shortly after the surgery began and died several days later at age 54.

Susan Malitz

In 2004, 56-year-old Malitz checked into a scandal-plagued New York hospital to undergo a routine facelift from a top doctor. As the Connecticut woman was being prepped for surgery, she went into cardiac arrest and died shortly thereafter.

Julie Rubenzer

Rubenzer, 38, went to a Florida-based doctor in search of a breast augmentation in 2003. There were many red flags, including the doctor's training, certification and lack of medical privileges. The patient stopped breathing, went into cardiac arrest, never regained consciousness and was taken to her hometown, where she died three months later.