We trust our government, right? They really know what they're doing, and we can certainly trust their judgment (not to mention their websites ending in "dot gov"). That goes without saying. In fact, we need lots more government. As Ronald Reagan once said, the most encouraging words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help!" Or did he say they were the most terrifying . . . . I am probably confused.
Anyhow, one thing we know for sure is that there is no safe level of lead. NO SAFE LEVEL - get it?! And money is a petty concern when you are facing a scourge like LEAD. Money grubbing businessmen! Ooooh, I really hate people who want to hoard money rather run lots of tests for lead when the risk to CHILDREN is so great. Arghh, thank heavens for the government - they will save us. Yes, save us.
We know all this. It's a given. But isn't the situation in JAPAN something of a challenge to these bedrock assumptions? I hold a degree in Chemical Engineering, so I know this-and-that about numbers and science. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing (just look at Congress), so I don't hold myself out as an expert. Just opinionated. That said, I can't QUITE square up the government's terror over lead in all manifestations in children's products in light of its calm reassurances about the radioactive material spewing into the environment from Japanese nuclear reactors disabled in the recent tragic earthquake. I wonder if Jan Schakowsky, Henry Waxman and Dick Durbin know about this.
Lead, bad . . . nuclear material, safe? I thought radiation was a much more threatening problem for human health, so wouldn't safe radioactive material imply safe lead? Dumb ole' me . . . . Here's what the press and our government say:
Huffington Post "Radiation Leaks Into Groundwater Under Japan Nuclear Plant": Radiation has been detected in Japanese GROUNDWATER now. Okay, let's get this straight. Groundwater flows freely, right? There are giant aquifers that convey water over long distances. Water also seeps through the ground, pulled by gravity and surface tension. Groundwater feeds into the drinking water system (Japanese drinking water, in this case) and also into the sea. Hmmm. I dimly recall that polluted groundwater is associated with some of the worst environmental disasters in history, like Love Canal. The groundwater contamination in Japan acknowledged thusfar is said to be "just" iodine-131. Notably, the authorities have also found plutonium in the soils, but haven't "found it" in the groundwater yet. They're also not talking about radioactive cesium, either.
Iodine-131 is no problem, it turns out. Safe, safe, safe: "The groundwater contamination was found in concentrations 10,000 times higher than the government standard for the plant. The iodine-131, a radioactive substance that decays quickly, was nearly 50 feet (15 meters) below one of the reactors, according to TEPCO spokesman Naoyuki Matsumo. Seiki Kawagoe, an environmental science professor at Tohoku University, said the radioactive substances were unlikely to affect drinking water, noting that radiation tends to dissipate quickly in the ground, as it does in the ocean." [Emphasis added]
Phew!
And don't worry, the cavalry is coming - the government is ON THE CASE! "The other concern is that contaminated water from the plant could seep into underground waterways and eventually into rivers used for drinking water. Tomohiro Mogamiya, an official with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's water supply division, said that was 'extremely unlikely' since groundwater would flow toward the ocean, and the plant is right on the coast. . . . 'When people return to the area we will test the water to make sure it is safe,' said Masato Ishikawa, an official with the Fukushima prefecture's food and sanitation division." [Emphasis added]
Sounds like a plan. What could go wrong?
Here's a small note on iodine-131: It has a half-life of eight days, so its mass decreases faster than other radioactive materials. Plutonium decays with a half-life of 24,000 years. I am feeling so calm about all this. The government has told me not to worry!
At least it's not lead.
UPI "EPA: Radiation levels in U.S. milk 'safe'" Japanese nuclear meltdown radioactive materials that are uncontrollably spraying into the air, water, soil, food sources and being conveyed all over the world, are now in the United States food chain. The EPA has detected the presence of Japanese radioactive materials in U.S. milk sources.
Who drinks milk anyhow?
I believe children drink milk. Not a worry, says the EPA: "'These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children,' the EPA said on its Web site. A radiation reading from milk in Spokane, Wash., on March 25 was 0.8 picocuries per liter, less than that of a normal banana, which naturally contains radioactive potassium. 'Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day,' FDA senior scientist Patricia Hansen said in a statement." [Emphasis added]
That settles it, right? The EPA says we're all safe. Radiation is all around us, in the air, the water, our food. We get a little bit every second of the day, just like lead. Lead? What?!
I am afraid you just don't get it, so here is ABC News putting it all in perspective: "A person would have to drink almost 1,500 gallons of milk -- two firetrucks full -- in eight days to reach the conservative safe limit." [Emphasis added]
Kids sometimes get pretty thirsty . . . .
Where did the radioactive material in milk come from? The Associated Press discounts gremlins and fairies: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week said Japan's radioactive fallout is showing up in milk in Washington and California, most likely after a cow ate tainted grass or drank puddles of rainwater containing it. Iodine-131, the type that was found, is short-lived and decays fairly quickly, becoming harmless."
This suggests that we should get used to eating Japanese nuclear material. But it's really safe, so stop your worrying. It's not lead, after all.
None of this should change anyone's mind on lead. Lead is a REAL PROBLEM. There is no safe level for lead. Radioactive iodine, radioactive cesium, a little bit of plutonium - THAT we can handle, radiation is everywhere, you know. Lead is a different matter. There are SOOOO many victims of lead . . . but we can't really identify them. But they gotta be there, right? Hmmm.
Don't forget the children, no safe level of lead, no safe level of lead, no safe level of lead . . . .
Showing posts with label Radioactivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radioactivity. Show all posts
Friday, April 1, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
CPSIA - Another Update on How VERY Safe We Are
I want to bring you up-to-date on the nuclear situation in Japan, but first a quick reminder - none of this matters BECAUSE there is no lead in plutonium or the other radioactive elements being discharged in tremendous mass into the air, water and soil by the disabled Fukushima reactors. So really, what's the worry?!
Let's start by noting that according to the Wall Street Journal, there are three trenches at reactor no. 2 that hold water emitting radiation at a rate of 1,000 millisieverts per hour. According to the paper, this level of radiation PER HOUR is "four times the allowable annual dose for a nuclear worker, even in an emergency situation" [Emphasis added]. Ouch, that's hot! But we shouldn't worry.
And the ocean near the reactors is zapping Geiger counters pretty intensively, too. Apparently, the ironically-named "Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency" announced today that water measured at the monitoring location near reactors nos. 1 to 4 had a mere 3,355 times the permitted levels of iodine-131. These measurements were taken 330 meters from the reactors' discharge. Hmmm. That's one-fifth of a mile out to sea.
I heard on the radio today that we should not worry about these radioactive elements because their half-life is only eight days, so soon they will be "all gone". [The reassurance was hardly necessary - it's not in my nature to worry about little details like nuclear radiation raining down on my head.] The spokesman for the ironic Japanese "safety" agency also threw cold water on my worries (bad choice of idiom?), noting that "the contamination of the seawater was not a risk because of the government's 20-kilometer evacuation zone and because iodine-131 degrades quickly and does not pose a long-term health threat." But I dimly recall from my school days that half-life is an EXPONENTIAL term. In other words, half-life describes the time in which half of the mass degrades. Two half-lives does not imply that it's all gone. No, half is gone in one half-life, and then half again in another half-life, leaving 25%. Three half-lives, and you have 1/8 of the original mass left. Get it?
Actually, iodine 131 sounds kinda icky. Check out its Wikipedia page. The so-called Japanese nuclear "safety" agency also notes that the radioactivity will be greatly diluted in the ocean (umm, wasn't their measurement of radioactivity FROM THE OCEAN?) and that people don't fish near the reactors. Okay, that's good news, but of course, with radiation levels as high as they are, the fishermen couldn't fish there for long anyway - they'd die within days. The "safety" agency apparently does not believe that fish swim very far or would ingest radioactive materials and somehow get caught elsewhere.
Nah, that could never happen. NOTHING to worry about here. Everyone get back to work!
Luckily, back here in the leading world center for science, we are focused on the REAL threat to humanity, LEAD-IN-SUBSTRATE. Having carefully assessed the situation, noting the perils of bicycle licking and trombone tooting, Congress outlawed everything that might have a molecule of lead in it. People are so freaked about lead that we have to hold hearings, hire consultants, lawyers and lobbyists to pitch the case for selling products with sterling safety records and then pray for a case-by-case, component-by-component exemption (even under draft legislation). Of course, no one has gotten one of those exemptions yet, but it's only been three years . . . . .
Luckily, we know what really causes physical harm here. Lead is the boogeyman - Congress told us so. And who told them? Consumer group lawyers. I can't see the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumer Federation of America or Consumers Union ever making a mistake or going too far - can you? We must be on the RIGHT TRACK . . . .
So, the bottom line, the situation in Japan is interesting but irrelevant to human health and the real threat to Americans is lead in rhinestones, tubas, ATV engine blocks and of course, that teeny-tiny ball of brass at the ink end of your ballpoint pen. You're in good hands, America!
Let's start by noting that according to the Wall Street Journal, there are three trenches at reactor no. 2 that hold water emitting radiation at a rate of 1,000 millisieverts per hour. According to the paper, this level of radiation PER HOUR is "four times the allowable annual dose for a nuclear worker, even in an emergency situation" [Emphasis added]. Ouch, that's hot! But we shouldn't worry.
And the ocean near the reactors is zapping Geiger counters pretty intensively, too. Apparently, the ironically-named "Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency" announced today that water measured at the monitoring location near reactors nos. 1 to 4 had a mere 3,355 times the permitted levels of iodine-131. These measurements were taken 330 meters from the reactors' discharge. Hmmm. That's one-fifth of a mile out to sea.
I heard on the radio today that we should not worry about these radioactive elements because their half-life is only eight days, so soon they will be "all gone". [The reassurance was hardly necessary - it's not in my nature to worry about little details like nuclear radiation raining down on my head.] The spokesman for the ironic Japanese "safety" agency also threw cold water on my worries (bad choice of idiom?), noting that "the contamination of the seawater was not a risk because of the government's 20-kilometer evacuation zone and because iodine-131 degrades quickly and does not pose a long-term health threat." But I dimly recall from my school days that half-life is an EXPONENTIAL term. In other words, half-life describes the time in which half of the mass degrades. Two half-lives does not imply that it's all gone. No, half is gone in one half-life, and then half again in another half-life, leaving 25%. Three half-lives, and you have 1/8 of the original mass left. Get it?
Actually, iodine 131 sounds kinda icky. Check out its Wikipedia page. The so-called Japanese nuclear "safety" agency also notes that the radioactivity will be greatly diluted in the ocean (umm, wasn't their measurement of radioactivity FROM THE OCEAN?) and that people don't fish near the reactors. Okay, that's good news, but of course, with radiation levels as high as they are, the fishermen couldn't fish there for long anyway - they'd die within days. The "safety" agency apparently does not believe that fish swim very far or would ingest radioactive materials and somehow get caught elsewhere.
Nah, that could never happen. NOTHING to worry about here. Everyone get back to work!
Luckily, back here in the leading world center for science, we are focused on the REAL threat to humanity, LEAD-IN-SUBSTRATE. Having carefully assessed the situation, noting the perils of bicycle licking and trombone tooting, Congress outlawed everything that might have a molecule of lead in it. People are so freaked about lead that we have to hold hearings, hire consultants, lawyers and lobbyists to pitch the case for selling products with sterling safety records and then pray for a case-by-case, component-by-component exemption (even under draft legislation). Of course, no one has gotten one of those exemptions yet, but it's only been three years . . . . .
Luckily, we know what really causes physical harm here. Lead is the boogeyman - Congress told us so. And who told them? Consumer group lawyers. I can't see the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumer Federation of America or Consumers Union ever making a mistake or going too far - can you? We must be on the RIGHT TRACK . . . .
So, the bottom line, the situation in Japan is interesting but irrelevant to human health and the real threat to Americans is lead in rhinestones, tubas, ATV engine blocks and of course, that teeny-tiny ball of brass at the ink end of your ballpoint pen. You're in good hands, America!
Monday, March 28, 2011
CPSIA - Health and Safety Update
More fascinating revelations from Japan today. I can't help but express wonderment at the news that plutonium turns out to be perfectly safe! According to Bloomberg.com, the utility that owns the disabled reactors found some plutonium on site recently:
"Tokyo Electric Power Co. found plutonium in soil samples taken near the stricken Fukushima Dai- Ichi nuclear plant a week ago, the company said. The presence of plutonium outside the plant means there’s been degradation of the fuel in at least one of the six reactors, Denis Flory, deputy director general of safety at the International Atomic Energy Agency, said yesterday at a press briefing in Vienna. Tokyo Electric can’t determine which reactor emitted plutonium, Vice President Sakae Muto said in a briefing shown on a webcast. The contamination 'shouldn’t have any effect on human health,' Muto said."
They found plutonium in the soils a week ago and because plutonium is so safe, they didn't bother telling anyone for a week. Imagine the monumental paperwork back-up necessary to slow THAT disclosure! Then again, as they note, the plutonium shouldn't have any effect on human health. Right.
I assume the Japanese are taking simple comfort in the fact that it's not lead. I think it's obvious that plutonium is safe because it's not lead AND there is NO safe level for lead. It's elementary - no lead, no problemo. Just a little plutonium. Now I understand why the CPSIA doesn't make us test for plutonium, too.
Thank heavens for the CPSIA.
"Tokyo Electric Power Co. found plutonium in soil samples taken near the stricken Fukushima Dai- Ichi nuclear plant a week ago, the company said. The presence of plutonium outside the plant means there’s been degradation of the fuel in at least one of the six reactors, Denis Flory, deputy director general of safety at the International Atomic Energy Agency, said yesterday at a press briefing in Vienna. Tokyo Electric can’t determine which reactor emitted plutonium, Vice President Sakae Muto said in a briefing shown on a webcast. The contamination 'shouldn’t have any effect on human health,' Muto said."
They found plutonium in the soils a week ago and because plutonium is so safe, they didn't bother telling anyone for a week. Imagine the monumental paperwork back-up necessary to slow THAT disclosure! Then again, as they note, the plutonium shouldn't have any effect on human health. Right.
I assume the Japanese are taking simple comfort in the fact that it's not lead. I think it's obvious that plutonium is safe because it's not lead AND there is NO safe level for lead. It's elementary - no lead, no problemo. Just a little plutonium. Now I understand why the CPSIA doesn't make us test for plutonium, too.
Thank heavens for the CPSIA.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
CPSIA - Good News and Bad News (Update No. 1)
Tokyo tap water is no longer suitable for babies 12 months or younger. The impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster spreads. Black smoke is seen coming out of Unit 3 at the nuclear plant and workers are evacuated again. Won't be allowed back for 24 hours. Not to worry you . . . but they have no idea why it's smoking. Japanese Broccoli is now found to give you a healthy glow (an extra "benefit") and the import of many Japanese foods from the region have been banned by the U.S. FDA and by Hong Kong, soon to be followed by South Korea. One Austrian scientist says this disaster will be similar to Chernobyl, and their crud is blowing over here.
Back on the home front, we are not worried about radioactivity from Japan. Harmless! Rather than focusing on the impact of nuclear material showering down on us from the heavens, into our food, our water, our produce, onto our skin and breathed into our lungs every moment of the day now, those valiant defenders of children, the CPSC, will be holding a highly-publicized hearing on pool drains - because a newspaper currently in bankruptcy hired an uncertified lab to perform tests on drain covers that have not apparently been involved in injuries. This is a TOP priority of our nurturing government. Who says we don't need more government? Come on, baby, give me MORE!
Of course, I make light - after all, I am a blogger, I must do so. The real scourge for children, as anyone can tell you, is not airborne radioactive material, but lead - which is why our CPSC has worked so tirelessly for three years to identify dangerous items like ballpoint pens, rhinestones, brass bushings on toy car wheels, ATV engine blocks, bicycle frames and bicycle vinyl seats, branding them as unsuitable for sale (or exposure) to children under 13 years of age.
Of course, there's plenty of legal mumbo-jumbo to consider, provisos and the like. Having carefully sorted out the hazard, our CPSC has determined that pens are only dangerous if they are intended for use by children. [Ballpoint pens have a tiny brass ball at the ink end, and brass contains 2-4% lead by weight. I bet you're scared now!] The ACTUAL USE of pens is not the health concern - what matters instead is what the manufacturer intended - you know, their state of mind at the time of sale. Hasn't your mother ever told you that it's what's in your heart that REALLY matters? The CPSC took this on board. After much cogitating, they determined that it's not a problem if 100% of children use ballpoint pens - no, it's only a problem if kids use a ballpoint pen INTENDED for use by children. THAT'S unacceptably dangerous and big penalties and recalls can result if you step over the line. They must have figured out that the state of mind of the manufacturer changes the physical character of the pen - pens literally take on the power to harm when a manufacturer thinks about selling them to kids!
It's a good thing we employ so many scientists at the CPSC. I hate to think about the crazy rules they'd come up with if they didn't have such a solid grounding in real science. Of course, they also employ many lawyers . . . . Could it be the lawyers???
Of course, I jest. The CPSC is certainly right - how could such an august organization err? And experts have told them they're right - that's a double-check right there. At the February 16th hearing on the 100 ppm lead standard, Don Mays from Consumers Union, a REAL expert, kicked off his testimony by reminding the Commission that there is NO safe level for lead. [I did not provide you with a clip of those magical words, but you can dig them up yourself if you don't believe me.] Mr. Mays was joined on the consumer group panel by another RENOWNED expert, Dr. Dana Best of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Mr. Mays and Dr. Best had a revealing dialogue with Commissioner Anne Northup on the horrors of brass instruments. You will see that the CPSC has no choice, the risks to children are so severe. Here's a transcript (you can see the video here):
AN: "Do you think that children that are in the 3rd and 4th grade should be prohibited from playing brass instruments considering the lead content of that brass?"
DM: "I think children should not be exposed to lead unnecessarily. And children in the 3rd and 4th grade, I have a daughter in the 4th grade and I certainly wouldn't want her to be exposed to lead if that was coming from an instrument."
AN: "So you would not let her play, like, the horn."
DM: "I would be very concerned about that, that's for sure. She does not play the horn, she plays the violin. Ha Ha Ha."
DB: "The mouthpieces on most of those instruments are not brass."
AN: "Yes, exactly. But they're holding them. They sling them around and hold them. . . . They could practice at night and play it every day during class. That would mean an every day exposure. I just wondered if that would alarm you."
DB: "Uh, it would alarm me that children were exposed unnecessarily to lead. And that's again the responsibility of the CPSC to determine, to look at the studies on individual cases. I'm here to talk about the harms of lead to children and how they need to be protected."
Frankly, I can't remember if Ms. Northup started banging her head against a wall at that point or not . . . .
With this kind of counsel, you can rest assured that the CPSC has its priorities straight. Don Mays and Dana Best are on the case! Just PLEASE don't mention bicycle licking . . . .
Back on the home front, we are not worried about radioactivity from Japan. Harmless! Rather than focusing on the impact of nuclear material showering down on us from the heavens, into our food, our water, our produce, onto our skin and breathed into our lungs every moment of the day now, those valiant defenders of children, the CPSC, will be holding a highly-publicized hearing on pool drains - because a newspaper currently in bankruptcy hired an uncertified lab to perform tests on drain covers that have not apparently been involved in injuries. This is a TOP priority of our nurturing government. Who says we don't need more government? Come on, baby, give me MORE!
Of course, I make light - after all, I am a blogger, I must do so. The real scourge for children, as anyone can tell you, is not airborne radioactive material, but lead - which is why our CPSC has worked so tirelessly for three years to identify dangerous items like ballpoint pens, rhinestones, brass bushings on toy car wheels, ATV engine blocks, bicycle frames and bicycle vinyl seats, branding them as unsuitable for sale (or exposure) to children under 13 years of age.
Of course, there's plenty of legal mumbo-jumbo to consider, provisos and the like. Having carefully sorted out the hazard, our CPSC has determined that pens are only dangerous if they are intended for use by children. [Ballpoint pens have a tiny brass ball at the ink end, and brass contains 2-4% lead by weight. I bet you're scared now!] The ACTUAL USE of pens is not the health concern - what matters instead is what the manufacturer intended - you know, their state of mind at the time of sale. Hasn't your mother ever told you that it's what's in your heart that REALLY matters? The CPSC took this on board. After much cogitating, they determined that it's not a problem if 100% of children use ballpoint pens - no, it's only a problem if kids use a ballpoint pen INTENDED for use by children. THAT'S unacceptably dangerous and big penalties and recalls can result if you step over the line. They must have figured out that the state of mind of the manufacturer changes the physical character of the pen - pens literally take on the power to harm when a manufacturer thinks about selling them to kids!
It's a good thing we employ so many scientists at the CPSC. I hate to think about the crazy rules they'd come up with if they didn't have such a solid grounding in real science. Of course, they also employ many lawyers . . . . Could it be the lawyers???
Of course, I jest. The CPSC is certainly right - how could such an august organization err? And experts have told them they're right - that's a double-check right there. At the February 16th hearing on the 100 ppm lead standard, Don Mays from Consumers Union, a REAL expert, kicked off his testimony by reminding the Commission that there is NO safe level for lead. [I did not provide you with a clip of those magical words, but you can dig them up yourself if you don't believe me.] Mr. Mays was joined on the consumer group panel by another RENOWNED expert, Dr. Dana Best of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Mr. Mays and Dr. Best had a revealing dialogue with Commissioner Anne Northup on the horrors of brass instruments. You will see that the CPSC has no choice, the risks to children are so severe. Here's a transcript (you can see the video here):
AN: "Do you think that children that are in the 3rd and 4th grade should be prohibited from playing brass instruments considering the lead content of that brass?"
DM: "I think children should not be exposed to lead unnecessarily. And children in the 3rd and 4th grade, I have a daughter in the 4th grade and I certainly wouldn't want her to be exposed to lead if that was coming from an instrument."
AN: "So you would not let her play, like, the horn."
DM: "I would be very concerned about that, that's for sure. She does not play the horn, she plays the violin. Ha Ha Ha."
DB: "The mouthpieces on most of those instruments are not brass."
AN: "Yes, exactly. But they're holding them. They sling them around and hold them. . . . They could practice at night and play it every day during class. That would mean an every day exposure. I just wondered if that would alarm you."
DB: "Uh, it would alarm me that children were exposed unnecessarily to lead. And that's again the responsibility of the CPSC to determine, to look at the studies on individual cases. I'm here to talk about the harms of lead to children and how they need to be protected."
Frankly, I can't remember if Ms. Northup started banging her head against a wall at that point or not . . . .
With this kind of counsel, you can rest assured that the CPSC has its priorities straight. Don Mays and Dana Best are on the case! Just PLEASE don't mention bicycle licking . . . .
Monday, March 21, 2011
CPSIA - Good News and Bad News
Here's the scoop: there is no safe level for lead but apparently there ARE safe levels for radiation.
According to reports today, the radiation from nuclear material drifting over from Japan is "harmless". No one should worry one little bit even though the Japanese radioactive material is now on the EAST Coast of the U.S.: "Since last week, the officials have tracked the radioactive plume as it has drifted eastward on prevailing winds from Japan — first to the West Coast and now over the East Coast and the Atlantic, moving toward Europe. . . . On Monday, European officials said the plume had reached the East Coast after drifting over North America. One station that detected the fresh radioactivity is in Charlottesville, Va., officials said."
This is not a problem, believe me. For one thing, it's not lead, for heavens sake - it's only iodine-131, iodine-132, tellurium-132 and cesium 137. You probably put that stuff on your cereal, tough guy!
The radiation levels are so low that the experts won't release them. They probably don't want to bother us, the levels are so low. "The global network of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, an arm of the United Nations in Vienna, has detected the movements of the plume. The organization’s mandate is to monitor the global ban on the testing of nuclear arms, and it has more than 60 stations that sniff the air for radiation spikes. The group has declined to make the recent findings public, but it shares its information with 120 member states, some of which have divulged the status of the plume’s movements."
Experts point out that radioactivity is everywhere, what's the problem with a little more???
The federal government apparently agrees with this guy: "While the news of these radioactive substances being detected may startle some residents, the EPA has emphasized that the normal daily dose of radiation is 100,000 times higher than the radiation found at these monitoring stations. Every day, people are exposed to radiation unknowingly. Radiation is present in food, air, water, and even our homes, all of which are natural sources of it. Increased exposure to radiation can come from medical procedures and industrial occupations as well." [Emphasis added]
This is in interesting contrast to lead which as everyone knows is dangerous down to one lone, little atom. I know this because pseudo-scientists like American Academy of Pediatrics (fearful of bicycle licking!) and Consumers Union (terrified about 4th graders playing brass instruments!) have repeated over and over that there is NO safe level for lead. NO safe level, kids! They're experts so they must know, right??? At least they say they're experts . . . .
These folks pushed Congressional patsies to impose an outright ban on ANY children's product that might emit ANY lead into the human body. [Section 101(b) of the CPSIA] The CPSC Commission (really, the Democrats on the Commission) helpfully interpreted Section 101(b) to refer to ANY lead, meaning one atom. Nothing ON EARTH can be exempted on this basis, so nothing has been given a pass under the lame-o exemption provision of the act. Had trouble finding choices in new children's bikes this year? Want to buy a youth model ATV? Remember the days when you could buy rhinestones to embellish your children's shoes or pants or in the form of cheap jewelry without resorting to the black market? You can thank Section 101(b) for this absurd situation. L&K to the AAP and CU (and let's not forget the Queen Bee of the zealots, Rachel Weintraub of the CFA) for all this safety!
Thank heavens that AAP, CU and CFA aren't worried about radioactivity. That means there MUST BE safe levels of radioactivity . . . . I see, Fukushima prefecture spinach or milk isn't really dangerous - but it will give you a healthy glow!
According to reports today, the radiation from nuclear material drifting over from Japan is "harmless". No one should worry one little bit even though the Japanese radioactive material is now on the EAST Coast of the U.S.: "Since last week, the officials have tracked the radioactive plume as it has drifted eastward on prevailing winds from Japan — first to the West Coast and now over the East Coast and the Atlantic, moving toward Europe. . . . On Monday, European officials said the plume had reached the East Coast after drifting over North America. One station that detected the fresh radioactivity is in Charlottesville, Va., officials said."
This is not a problem, believe me. For one thing, it's not lead, for heavens sake - it's only iodine-131, iodine-132, tellurium-132 and cesium 137. You probably put that stuff on your cereal, tough guy!
The radiation levels are so low that the experts won't release them. They probably don't want to bother us, the levels are so low. "The global network of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, an arm of the United Nations in Vienna, has detected the movements of the plume. The organization’s mandate is to monitor the global ban on the testing of nuclear arms, and it has more than 60 stations that sniff the air for radiation spikes. The group has declined to make the recent findings public, but it shares its information with 120 member states, some of which have divulged the status of the plume’s movements."
Experts point out that radioactivity is everywhere, what's the problem with a little more???
The federal government apparently agrees with this guy: "While the news of these radioactive substances being detected may startle some residents, the EPA has emphasized that the normal daily dose of radiation is 100,000 times higher than the radiation found at these monitoring stations. Every day, people are exposed to radiation unknowingly. Radiation is present in food, air, water, and even our homes, all of which are natural sources of it. Increased exposure to radiation can come from medical procedures and industrial occupations as well." [Emphasis added]
This is in interesting contrast to lead which as everyone knows is dangerous down to one lone, little atom. I know this because pseudo-scientists like American Academy of Pediatrics (fearful of bicycle licking!) and Consumers Union (terrified about 4th graders playing brass instruments!) have repeated over and over that there is NO safe level for lead. NO safe level, kids! They're experts so they must know, right??? At least they say they're experts . . . .
These folks pushed Congressional patsies to impose an outright ban on ANY children's product that might emit ANY lead into the human body. [Section 101(b) of the CPSIA] The CPSC Commission (really, the Democrats on the Commission) helpfully interpreted Section 101(b) to refer to ANY lead, meaning one atom. Nothing ON EARTH can be exempted on this basis, so nothing has been given a pass under the lame-o exemption provision of the act. Had trouble finding choices in new children's bikes this year? Want to buy a youth model ATV? Remember the days when you could buy rhinestones to embellish your children's shoes or pants or in the form of cheap jewelry without resorting to the black market? You can thank Section 101(b) for this absurd situation. L&K to the AAP and CU (and let's not forget the Queen Bee of the zealots, Rachel Weintraub of the CFA) for all this safety!
Thank heavens that AAP, CU and CFA aren't worried about radioactivity. That means there MUST BE safe levels of radioactivity . . . . I see, Fukushima prefecture spinach or milk isn't really dangerous - but it will give you a healthy glow!
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