Radiation, Japan, and Irresponsible Reporting: Part IV

This post has been lying in wait for quite some time. I thought it best that I let it simmer and distill for a while… The truth is that I was simply getting too frustrated with the Fukushima coverage to compose a sensible post. Now, with a little extra time and perspective, please allow me […]

Radiation, Japan, and irresponsible reporting: Part III

As detailed in Part I and Part II of this series, the vocabulary of radiation science, (known as “health physics,”) is being chronically misused and confused by the news media in its coverage of the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan, and critical context is being ignored when details are reported. The result? There is so […]

Radiation, Japan, and irresponsible reporting: Part II

So, after my last post, you’ve got the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences between radioactivity (overweight atoms), radioactive material (the material containing or composed of the overweight atoms), radiation (invisible light and particles emitted by the overweight atoms), and contamination (having radioactive material someplace you don’t want it). Hopefully, you can also see why mixing these […]

Radiation, Japan, and irresponsible reporting: Part I

While the media continues to sensationalize what is already a “gee-whiz” bewildering topic for most ordinary people on planet Earth – nuclear reactors and radioactivity – the recent run on Potassium-Iodide tablets in the United States and on the Internet betrays just how badly the outlets are throwing gasoline on the raging inferno of ignorance […]

Confronting radiation fears through symbology

Just a quick note today on radiation and the irrational fear it provokes. -Take it from someone who works around “rad” professionally in nature and in industry: Radiation isn’t scary. It’s normal. Radiation comes from the sun above, the mountains around, the soil beneath, our wi-fi routers, radio stations, and heck – our own bodies emit infrared and gamma […]