Radiation Network - real time environmental radiation levels across the USA

[madfranks]

http://radiationnetwork.com/

Welcome to RadiationNetwork.com, home of the National Radiation Map, depicting environmental radiation levels across the USA, updated in real time every minute. This is the first web site where the average citizen (or anyone in the world) can see what radiation levels are anywhere in the USA at any time

Could be useful to see how much impact the Japanese radiation has once it crosses the shores of the US.

[Add EPA Link (JQP): http://www.epa.gov/radiation/rert/radnet-data-map.html ]

[JohnQPublic]

I declare it now useful:

Radiation Reaches California

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/18/2011 10:23 -0400

After travelling in the first class confines of the Gulf/Jetstream for the past 3 days, the Fukushima radiation has finally reached California. This happens just as The Hill reports Obama has oredered a full review of all US nuclear power plants. Look for the nuclear pair trade to become all the rage in the next week.

From Reuters:

Very low concentrations of radioactive particles believed to have come from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant have been detected on the U.S. west coast, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

The level of radiation was far too low to cause any harm to humans, they said.

One diplomat, citing information from a network of international monitoring stations, described the material as "ever so slight" and consisting of only a few particles.

"It is very low level," another source in Vienna said.

Until it isn't. Any since when are diplomats nuclear power experts?

[cthulu]

They don't say how low. I've been seeing spikes as high as 60.

[Low Pan]

yeah saw 60 in Denver, then it went dwn. 60 appears to be at the height of normal radiation levels.

edit: Wow, look at that map. Imagine what would happen if a Tsunami hit the US east coast. It would be the current Japanese crisis x100!

editx2: just saw Denver spike to 68

[undgrd]

Denver will always be higher because of elevation.

[lapis]

Denver will always be higher because of elevation.

It's now at 74. Does that mean it's getting more of the Japanese radiation than the west coast?

[Golden]

Denver will always be higher because of elevation.

It's now at 74. Does that mean it's getting more of the Japanese radiation than the west coast?

Radiation in Denver versus Tokyo...

According to this, the total annual background exposure in Denver is 11.8 MILLIsieverts per year, which is 11,800 microsieverts per year, which is 32 microsieverts per day, which is 1.3 microsieverts per hour.

http://isis-online.org/risk/tab7

Current rate in Tokyo is 0.049 microsieverts per hour. The Denver rate is 27 times the current Tokyo rate, primarily due to radon gas in Denver, but that is not quite right and is an overestimate because it depends what is included and excluded, outdoors versus indoors, etc.


The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends evacuation of a locality whenever the excess radiation dose exceeds .1 rem per year. But that's one-third of what I call the "Denver dose." Applied strictly, the ICRP standard would seem to require the immediate evacuation of Denver.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...444059332.html

Suffering from Rocky Flats...

Denver suffers from the long term effects of the incident at Rocky Flats where they used to manufacture the triggers for Hydrogen bombs, (small saucer shaped ingots of Plutonium). A similar event to that here in the UK some years earlier at Calder Hall, where the dust filters were contaminated with radioactive dust and caught fire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Flats_Plant
http://www.lm.doe.gov/rocky_flats/Sites.aspx

[Cobalt]

Washington State Dept of Health radiation numbers here

http://www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/japan/monitor.htm

[Low Pan]

Denver will always be higher because of elevation.

It's now at 74. Does that mean it's getting more of the Japanese radiation than the west coast?

I would think that the Mountain winds would help to push this back west. Thoughts?

[madfranks]

Denver will always be higher because of elevation.

Correct. Since the Earth's atmosphere keeps out cosmic radiation, a city a mile higher than sea level has less atmosphere to filter out the extra-planetary radiation. It's normal, and not from Japan.