Job Discussion Forums

MrCAPiTUL · Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 232 Location: Taipei, Taiwan

Just out of curiousity, aren't any of you a little concerned about living in/around those areas? Radiation takes YEARRRRRS to remove. I'm sure it has, at some point, gotten to the aquifer.

Just curious. It was a random thought. Perhaps leading to lively discussion. Perhaps dying an agonizing death. *shrugs* It's all gravy.
Very Happy

allyismycopilot · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 32 Location: Tsuyama-Shi

I spent ten years in/around Hiroshima and I now have 6 fingers on one hand.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

All Nagasaki and Hiroshima ALTs glow faintly years after they return to their home countries, didn't you know?

I was at a house party near Hiroshima, and as a party game, I offered to read palms. My Japanese was rudimentary but serviceable at the time. The local guys, all labourers who were born in the area, held up their right hands, and I was spooked to see that each of them had either one or two lines that crossed horizontally across their palms.

But they were born there, and were descended from people who'd been exposed to the radiation. Probably their genes are forever mangled.

If you wake up one morning to find an extra eyeball looking back at you from your chest, please post, okay?

chirp · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 148

I am sure it is wrong that this thread is making me laugh! Embarassed

Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

There are two ways in which an area can become radioactive.

This first is from the actual fallout. The bombs and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated at heights of 500-600 metres and only about 10% actually resulted in radioactive rain-the other 90% simply dispersed into the atmosphere.

The second possibility comes from neutron irridation of soil or buildings where neutrons actually cause non-radioactive solids to become radioactive. The A-bomb explosion consisted of approx. 10% neutrons and 90% gamma rays (which do not cause materials to become radioactive). Because the explosions were so high, there was not a high level of irridation by neutrons. In Hiroshima, the longest lasting induced radiation was was cesium-134 which only has a halflife of 2 years.

So basically you are getting more radiation staring at your laptop monitor then you will teaching at Hiroshima.

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

angrysoba · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 446 Location: Kansai, Japan

This is completely unconfirmed but I have heard that background radiation is higher in Tokyo than it is in Hiroshima.

MrCAPiTUL · Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 232 Location: Taipei, Taiwan

About that laptop thing. . . . quite honestly, nobody knows the long term effects of using them, nor do people know long term effects of using the Microwave all the damn time, nor do they know the long term effects of cell phones, etc. I'm not saying that necessarily means there WILL be long term effects, nor am I saying that there are effects from living in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. What I am saying is that, honestly, people just don't know. Can you really trust the Japanese government to give you accurate details on the situation? They can't even admit to the NanJing massacre, which was documented. You can't trust the US government, either. Just a conspiracy theory, I say.

By the way, Tokyo, can you read my palms when I get to Japan?????? Shocked

beavotron · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 8 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

tests done on the offspring of the generation born to the one that experienced the actual bombs show no increase of radiation-induced genetic mutations.

mutation rate is at baseline there.

this is based on info from one of my genetics classes last year.