I wrote in another blog post earlier this week how the potential for radiation to show up all kinds of places as a result of the nuclear power problems in Japan may require companies to acquite Geiger counters to make sure radiactive products aren't entering their supply chains (See Geiger Counters for the Supply Chain?).
I also wondered what would happen if products with slight radioactivity came to market, but consumers were told they were at "safe" levels. Would consumers/business buy those products, whether it was sea food or a machine tool?
We'll see, but we are already there. It was reported today that scientists are already finding very low levels of radiocactivity in milk on the West coast of the United States.
How? Floating radiation from the Japan nuke plants is landing on grass in California and elsewhere. The cows eat the grass, a day or two later, the milk turns on the Geiger counter.
The good news about [radioactive] iodine is, it has a short half-life," said Dr. Wally Curran, a radiation oncologist and head of Emory University's Winship Cancer Center."It doesn't dwell in any biologic system, be it an adult, a child, a cow, for any significant period of time, and at those levels there's no evidence that there's any medical significance."
Are you comforted now?
I am sure he's right, I never worried about Alar on apples, but I am betting milk sales on the West coast will be heading South for awhile.
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