Panic under your rock

[mattm04]

We all know that the Fukushima power plant is likely in some stage of melting down after the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that killed their backup power. The logical course of action over in the East Coast is to panic like you live next to the thing. Right?

Anyway, today i had to run into the local chain drug store to grab a few items. I am looking for the right product and a few feet away a clerk was stocking the shelves.

Panicked customer: *runs up to clerk* Fuka...Fuka something.
C: ....
PC: you know Japan.
C: oh, you mean the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
PC: Yes, yes. I need that stuff so you don't die.
C: Well, we do carry Potassium iodide, but we are all sold out now.
PC: How can you beeeee!!!??
C: Well, people have been coming in to buy it ever since Japan stated having problems whit the nuclear power plant.
PC: oh, i see. when will you get more in?
C: Were not sure right now, but at this point i wouldn't worry. We are so far away that no radiation is likely to reach us. Things seem to be sort of under control over their.
PC: That's good.
C: Yep.

Now here is where they made the mistake of being honest.

C: The only real danger here is if you live near a plant, but then you get some from the local government anyway if you live close enough, in case something went horribly wrong
PC: Here!!!?
C: *now realizing the mistake* Yeah, their a few plants in this area.
PC: Reallllllllllllllyy!!!?

Now for someone so concerned, I would have assume they listened to one local news broadcast or read one local paper where they interviewed someone from one of the local nuke plants, that have have been in operation since the 70's.

C: Yeah, they just had a article about Millstone (along the CT shore) and Pilgrim (Plymouth MA) and what they do to make sure it is safe.
PC: I never they they existed.

PC, who had to be 40 or so, walks away.

How do you really not know that these places existed since the 1970s in some way.

I was tempted to tell them about Seabrook, Vermont Yankee and Indian Point, but I was feeling nice for some reason.

[Brojekk]

That reminds me of an episode of scrubs. Some of the characters were watching the news. The news hinted at an epidemic of flu or something like that. Nurses commented about people panicking over stuff like that. A split second later, the ER was crammed full of people who saw the news and thought they had that strain of the flu. Ahhh the power of suggestion LOL

[Squeaksmyalias]

*hits head against desk* So this panicky person lives near me too then...oh good.
Oh and *waves to mattm04* hi neighbor.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The west coast would be more likely to get the radiation from Japan, since the wind blows that way right across the ocean.

My brain is shutting down.

Oh, and I can't wait for somebody to ask me if we carry iodine tablets because the only iodine we have comes in bottles and I don't think you're supposed to just chug it to avoid become radioactive.

[bhskittykatt]

Reminds me of the conversation I had with a customer last night. His buddy was talking about moving away to the East Coast to get away from radiation. Guest told them about all the plants over there. He said his friend thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Well, then we're moving to Venezuela!"

[Sapphire Silk]

Gahgh! Get a grip, people.

No radiation from Japan is going to reach the East Coast. It's not even going to reach the West Coast. Even when Chernobyl melted down, the damage was limited to a specific area.

In any case, taking potassium iodine is NOT something you want to be doing without a clear cut medical reason. It is possible to take too much.

[mattm04]

And Chernobyl was a plant that didn't have any form of containment vessels that the reactor was in. Basically just a roof to keep the weather out. Japan and all modern plants do so what happened at Chernobyl can't happen.

[fma_fanatic]

I had read somewhere that they were warning against people just buying and taking KI since it can have some nasty side effects. Not to mention it can cause problems down the road if it's taken in excess and unnecessarily.

Gahgh! Get a grip, people.

No radiation from Japan is going to reach the East Coast. It's not even going to reach the West Coast. Even when Chernobyl melted down, the damage was limited to a specific area.

In any case, taking potassium iodine is NOT something you want to be doing without a clear cut medical reason. It is possible to take too much.

There were very negligible amounts of radiation detected:

Radiation reaches California

[Kogarashi]

*hits head against desk* So this panicky person lives near me too then...oh good.
Oh and *waves to mattm04* hi neighbor.

Hi neighbor to you.

I didn't know about the plants up here, but then in my defense, we've only been here a few years while Hubby does his PhD and will be moving out again once he defends.

Plus I, you know, don't panic about it.

[Squeaksmyalias]

Hi other neighbor!
Btw there is a fantastic book store near Millstone in Niantic, if you live in the same state and want to know where it is, PM me. It's got goats, and cats!...Oh and lots and lots of reasonably priced books and they do trades! It's lovely.

[Sapphire Silk]

I had read somewhere that they were warning against people just buying and taking KI since it can have some nasty side effects. Not to mention it can cause problems down the road if it's taken in excess and unnecessarily.



There were very negligible amounts of radiation detected:

Radiation reaches California

Radioactive iodine decays very rapidly, thankfully. You would have to get 100 chest x rays or 10 CT scans to match the amount of radiation that actually is reaching California.

It's too soon to panic and start taking KI.

And it does NOTHING against other forms of radiation.

This is one of those situations where it is really better to wait for instructions from the government on what to do.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Reminds me of the conversation I had with a customer last night. His buddy was talking about moving away to the East Coast to get away from radiation. Guest told them about all the plants over there. He said his friend thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Well, then we're moving to Venezuela!"

Great idea! Why worry about radiation that isn't going to reach you, or living someplace where the possibility of a similar disaster does exist but is extremely minute, when you can live under a brutal dictator instead?

Some people's kids....

Gahgh! Get a grip, people.

No radiation from Japan is going to reach the East Coast. It's not even going to reach the West Coast. Even when Chernobyl melted down, the damage was limited to a specific area.

Exactly.

But this is a free country; you're free to panic if you want to. Please try not to run into anybody while you're running around in circles, and try not to smack anybody while you're flailing your arms all around.

[Kogarashi]

Hi other neighbor!
Btw there is a fantastic book store near Millstone in Niantic, if you live in the same state and want to know where it is, PM me. It's got goats, and cats!...Oh and lots and lots of reasonably priced books and they do trades! It's lovely.

Ah, so sad, Niantic is a bit of a drive for me. Though maybe when we head up to RI for a day trip, we'll try it. ::heads off to PM::

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Not to mention that there's very real, it's-been-around-for-decades radiation 'fallout' in the Rocky Mountain (and other) regions-- observe and yet... people are flipping shit. I hate the media.
EDIT: also, this, scroll down to see a pretty pie chart illustrating that radon's more prevalent. Radon's also deadly, if I recall correctly.
EDIT: radon causes lung cancer, according to the Wiki, most after cigarettes.
EDIT: also, it accumulates in ur basement.
Sorry, yet another edit: I wonder who would freak out if I mentioned bananas have radiation? And the sun? and the very earth beneath their feet?

[LillFilly]

I hear people are buying-up gas masks left right and sideways for when the volcanoes erupt. I'm going to go start building my bunker now...