Everyday Radiation
As workers risk their lives at the Fukushima plant, The Daily Beast puts their heroic deeds in perspective by comparing their exposure to the levels of radiation you incur from everyday items.
AP Photo,Owen Humphreys
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 and a half packs a day = 1,300 millirem per year
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 7,627 cigarettes
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 chest X-ray = at least 4 millirem of radiation
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 225 Chest X-rays
iStockphoto
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 cross-country flight = at least 2 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 450 cross-country flights
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 smoke detector = .01 millirem per year
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 90,000 years of smoke detector use
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 dental X-ray = at least .5 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 1,800 dental X-rays
iStockphoto
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 mammogram = at least 30 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 30 mammograms
iStockphoto
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 banana = .01 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 90,000 bananas
Corbis
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 pass through an airport body scanner = at least .002 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 450,000 times through an airport body scanner
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 pound of Brazil nuts = 1 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 pounds of Brazil nuts
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 year living near a nuclear power plant = less than 1 millirem per year
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 years living near a nuclear power plant
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 year living in a house = 200 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 4.5 years living in a house
Bob Ainsworth
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 quart of Gatorade = .2 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 4,500 quarts of Gatorade
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 year of television watching = 30 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 30 years of television watching
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
8 hours of sleeping next to someone = 2 millirems (due to radioactive potassium in the body)
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 3,600 hours of sleeping next to someone
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 year of wearing porcelain teeth or crowns = .07 millirem per year
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 12,857 years of wearing porcelain teeth or crowns
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 year of working at Grand Central Station = 120 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 7.5 years of work at Grand Central Station
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
3 glasses of water = .045 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 20,000 glasses of water
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 CT scan on an extremity = 10 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 90 localized CT scans
AP Photo
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 900 millirem of radiation
1 year at a US Navy Shipyard =
.02 millirem
12 hours at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant = 45,000 years working at a US Navy Shipyard
AP Photo
The FDA says that scientific studies have shown no excessive radiation risk from cellphones. But cellphones do still emit radiofrequency energy. This energy is typically measured as the watts emitted by the phone per kilogram of human tissue. Click here for a full list of radiation measurements by cellphone brand from the Environmental Working Group. The radiation emitted from a cellphone is not directly comparable to the exposure to workers at the Fukushima plant, but it is safe to say the radiation risk from cellphone use is fathoms lower.
Pat Wellenbach
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