Science has long studied the effects of stress, extreme disasters, and imminent death on the actions and thought process of those working on-scene, as well as those living in the surrounding area. The danger of radiation is that it is undetectable, and when faced with a threat that exceeds understanding and imagination, the majority of the those affected have trouble believing the threat is real.
Radiation affects the body directly through the tissue, muscles, bones, and other organs in the body. The most terrifying aspect of radiation is that it destroys and mutates DNA in the human body, destroying what makes an individual “human” -- including the unique strand of DNA that sets you apart from all of the other carbon-based life-forms on the earth today. Low-level radiation promotes the slow release of ‘free radicals’, or unstable molecules. Production of the most common, oxygen free radicals, is increased by protracted exposure to the radioactivity of ingested fission products. Oxygen free radicals (unstable oxygen molecules with an extra electron) are attracted to the membranes of cells, which they then disable.
At Chernobyl, there was less than 150 tons of waste entombed in the final sarcophagus. More than half of the Caesium-137 released in the explosion was carried in the atmosphere to other European nations. At Fukushima it is estimated there is close to 10,000 tons of melted corium constantly working to escape the control of TEPCO and the workers on-site.
NOTE: this excellent article repeats what I've posted regarding low levels of radiation. Note the comparisons between amounts released at Chernobyl and Fukushima.
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