How Much Radiation-Contaminated Water Will Kill You?
There is a lot of worry this week about radiation contaminated water being consumed by people and animals as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. But how much would you have to drink to actually be in danger?
Here’s a little math: You’d have to consume 77 million becquerels (a measure of radiation) to equal a 1 sievert (Sv) dose of the stuff. That 1 Sv dose would increase a person’s chance of cancer in their life by 4%.
This means that at the highest recorded readings from Tokyo’s water supply on March 23, it would take 97,000 gallons of water to equal 1 Sv. For most of us, that’s over 500 years of water intake. Unless you’re a Japanese camel, so far you’re ok.
(via jtotheizzoe)
