Contamination Worse than Fukushima that No One Knows About

[@SkinnyBiker]

As a retired radiation worker of 30 years, I had to have cataract surgery from the damage at 55 years old. I routinely used Gama sources. Be careful. Damage is done over time, even when using all prescribed measures of protection.

[@christophertiredofbs8514]

My neighbor has a Cadillac

[@padddy48]

I Always imagined it like heat, after you are exposed you need to cool down but it takes much longer and you cant sweat like being in the sun.

[@-allround-]

​@christophertiredofbs8514 I know a guy that has a Cadillac to !

[@SeanSchwifty]

@@christophertiredofbs8514 mine has an Aston Martin 😅

[@kevinavillain4616]

Truth of the matter is a lot of the side effects people experience from the nuclear industry are for items other than such as heavy and toxic solvents. Thank you for the 30-year test in reality of nuclear waste water dumping and how little it affects community's. Thank you for pointing out reality not scare tactics.

[@Muonium1]

In order to calculate a person's dose from ingesting a radionuclide you need to use something called the CEDE - the committed effective dose equivalent for that isotope. For tritium, this is 64 mREM per milliCurie ingested. So for your sign which I see at 13:30 contains 281 GBq of activity (7,594 milliCuries), this is 7,594 X 0.064 REM = 486 REM dose, which is very serious and has a 50/50 chance of putting you into skeleton mode. However, this is only if the tritium is ABSORBED, meaning it must be in the form of superheavy water in order to give you that dose! If you just inhale the tritium gas then the absorption fraction (the part that you won't just immediately exhale again) is a mere 0.005%. Meaning your dose would be an immeasurably tiny 24 milliREM!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks for that explanation. The sign I got isn't a full blast one...I guess you can pay a little extra and they might give you a 25 Curie version. I know enough when something measures the activity in Curies you should treat it with respect and have something to keep an eye on that activity. "Skeleton Mode"...hahaha...I like that.

[@dymytryruban4324]

The exposure time also matters. Albert Stevens accumulated 64 Sv over 20-year period. That is ten times the acute lethal dose.

[@kevinavillain4616]

At least there's one person out that realizes it's more than a fancy radiation detector and a calculator. Exposure detection is an extremely precise and methodical procedure and not just throwing darts at a dartboard.

[@lostpony4885]

Math is scarier than radiation

[@squishvr174]

this man is probably one of the only consistently uploading radiation youtubers

[@madmax2069]

There's a few others, t folse nuclear (nuclear engineer), Elena (nuclear scientist), and there's a few others that upload consistently. There's also Kyle hill (but he's not always doing nuclear related videos).

[@Muonium1]

A couple others are Simons Nuclearchemistry and Neptunium

[@MrJruta]

“Plainly difficult’ makes good ones also

[@280SE]

That’s cuz he’s a radiation youtuber. If you go to a car youtuber, you’ll be surprised to see that he uploads stuff about cars

[@squishvr174]

i said CONSISTENTLY UPLOADING, not just radiation youtuber.@@280SE

[@nancyadams9228]

I am a 70 year old who as a child played outside and drank milk from a cow that grazed in a rain out area in the 50s and 60s during nuclear testing. I recently found my baby teeth and they are still slightly radioactive. I have cancer and thyroid disease. Not paranoid because I have had enough fractionated radiotherapy to kill an elephant if it were in one dose. Like you, I love playing with my Geiger counter and finding sites and sources. Fun times. 😂

[@braindecay9477]

The doses from radiotherapy are very focused on a small area, and are not the same as full body doses. As in: a 30 Gray dose to a 1 cm³/1 g tumor would be about the 10x deadly dose for a body, but you only got it into a tiny part -> the same amount of photons on the whole body would only be 0,0006 Gray full body dosage It's like comparing a laser to a lightbulb. -> you'd never receive enough radiation to kill an elephant

[@fredharvey2720]

I'm sorry the government did that to you. Where did you grow up?

[@volvodoc01]

I worked at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, and in the areas that could have explosive digester gas (where everything must be explosion proof… cannot use steel tools.non sparking metals only) all had these kind of exit lights. They where replaced like five years ago… still where able to be seen in the dark.. we’re originally installed in 1989 (I was 8 years old!).. and well past the replacement date….. just think of how incredibly long those were generating light…the Soviet Union was still around when they’re made. Crazy

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Even the expired ones are going to still glow in the dark. Would take about 120 years for all the tritium to disappear completely.

[@AKAtheA]

@@RadioactiveDrew note that it's not just the trithium decaying, the phosphor is being slowly damaged by the constant electron bombardment

[@garrybrown3165]

As a Washington state native and semi-retired radiation oncologist with a background in pharmacy, nuclear pharmacy, osteopathic medicine, and radiation oncology who has worked at Washington State University Tri-Cities, your explanation of the risks of tritium release from Fukushima was perfect. Great job! GJBrownDO 11/18/2023 13:55 Eastern

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. People just need to see what those numbers mean.

[@pgtmr2713]

@@RadioactiveDrew Just going to breeze past a Doc Brown leaving a 4th dimensional reply... ask if he has a plutonium powered Delorean, perhaps a pooch named Einstein.

[@NonkelGans]

I have indeed never seen an exit sign made with radium but I do have these plexiglas capsules made by the Radium Company that they placed above light switches. They are rare items here in Belgium as I only have seen them once. I got them from a factory that was being demolished and the workers just pilled them up to be picked up for proper disposal. I took 2 of them (knowing well what they are) and while they are at least 60 years old they are still very reactive to my Geiger counter. That puts Tritium into a whole new perspective for sure. Great explanation you did here, people know so little about radiation and the press often blow it way out of proportion because they know nothing of it either.

[@Janer-52]

I only found you today - but this is the best explanation I've heard on a level I can understand. You are making complex "nerdy" stuff understandable to the common person. That in itself is a gift. Thank you SO much for what you are doing.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks…I’m trying to approach complicated subjects in a way everyone can follow.

[@skyking3525]

You have such a great skill of explaining things for the average person to understand. Well done.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks. I try and present subjects in a way most people can understand.

[@jimhofoss9982]

few other points about Hanford…the open trenches they filled and covered over. The leaking double walled tanks…all contribute to ongoing leaching into the Columbian River. The cases of anencephaly along the Columbia River are much higher than the mean average in newborns born elsewhere…Fukushima was a great headline to use, to direct attention away from the polution right in their own back yard. And almost never mentioned is the whoops at WIPP…remember?

[@katiekane5247]

They'll claim it's from Zika and get folks to approve more GMO mosquitos 😢

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

You Tube , " Hanford's Dirty Secrets .... King 5 News " ! Great investigative teamwork revealing just how bad Hanford and the contractors are !!!

[@silkwoman5391]

@benmcreyolds8581 The 2014 WIPP incident happened because someone at Los Alamos packed a barrel with the wrong kind of kitty litter. Not joking (the DoE investigation/accident report is readily available online). Attention to detail matters in nuclear chemistry.... This is why people aren't willing to trust the industry.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I live just south of there in Corvallis, Oregon. It's funny that the more i learn about radioactivity, the more i realize how strange people are about how we've reacted to different things depending on the way it's been communicated. Then on top of that, it feels like even tho modern day nuclear energy options have advanced so much with their engineering designs, safety measures & understanding of safety protocols, etc. it still doesn't matter to a large amount of people.. it's like they are ingrained with a natural negative response when talking about certain nuclear energy & radioactive topics. It's a bummer because i truly believe that our best option for our future is to start utilizing Modern advanced nuclear energy options in our electrical grid. It's just proving to be challenging to get people & politicians to sign up and get on board. It will really allow places to be much more energy independent. Less reliant on fossil fuels. They'll have efficient, stable electrical grids and the rest of the grid could experiment with alternative power sources, etc. We need to heal from the trauma of our past. See & learn that those things only happened solely from Us not understanding what we were doing when it came to nuclear energy at the time. We didn't have advanced enough technology, material science, engineering, safety measures, understanding of how to go about everything, etc. This source of energy will greatly help the world improve towards the future and lowering emissions. More than anything else could, while also providing a very stable electrical grid system. Currently we have alternative energy options but the majority of our grid is powered off of fossil fuels and emission producing sources of energy. We will be so much better going forward commiting to modern advanced nuclear energy options.

[@WJV9]

AMEN, burning carbon based fuels will kill millions more people than all the nuclear power plants ever will.

[@kilohertz9456]

Don't forget, The neutrons would have activated any trace elements in the river water and created N16 . N16 has a short half life but we had to hold if in our Waste Gas Decay tanks for several months prior to releasing it due to the energy level of the of even a single gamma decay. I was employed a Crystal River 3 from 1984 until 2009. The waste decay gas tank room had to have its entrance filled with 2 ft. of concrete. An18 by 18 inch crawl way was left as the entrance to the room . The new door was a was made of 24 by 24 inch lead plates totaling 12 inches thick on a steel frame cart that could be rolled out of the way if necessary for entrance. During my 25 years there the lead cover was never moved. The pre job briefings for Reactor Building at power entries always covered the danger of these gamma's.

[@historicaltidbits]

I crunched the numbers in my own video on Fukushima. But I don't think people really understood or appreciated the insignificance of the contamination. I think your video does a much better job by using the exit signs as a comparison!

[@ChrisMuncy]

Thanks for the video Drew. Standing back and thinking about this and how you explain it makes so much sense. Where the radiation release at Fukushima is bad. It's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. And thanks for making that very clear.

[@MadScientist267]

None of them are 🙄

[@Zidbits]

I don't even know if I'd say it's "bad". It's obviously not ideal, I'll grant that, but just about every scientific study predicts virtually zero risk from what they're doing right now. The only reason we even heard about it is because of China's crying. They saw this as a propaganda torch they could carry for a little bit to try and get people negative towards Japan, so they ran with it. China doesn't give a crap about Fukushima, they know there is little to no risk. But people who don't know much about nuclear power don't understand just how little risk there is. Moreover, China is a MASSIVE freaking hypocrite. The amount of radioactive debris that enters the atmosphere from their massive coal plants dwarfs anything from Fukushima (and yes, coal plants produce radioactive ash/waste. Only, their waste just gets released into the atmosphere where a nuclear power plant's waste is stored for safe disposal). Fun fact: China pumps more C02 into the atmosphere annually than the U.S, the E.U and India ... COMBINED.

[@pazsion]

It’s absolutely as bad as it is made out to be… not so much the filtered water…. But even that is immediately deadly for fish. But the mox fuel was airisolized Enough for there to be 3 grams of plutonium for every person in the known world. But thankfully the dispersion patterns and soil samples suggest a lot of it is still in the sky… and oceans are a greater surface area with more precipitation. Some have suggested it comes down more at night. Periodically raining metal larger than nano particles. If 30% fell in the 3 years I kept track… that’s about 10% every 3 years. Within 4 months after the disaster I was still hit in the eye with charged particles during a light rain… Bright blue flash that felt like I got punched in the eye… I had a black eye for a few days… and swelling like I had burned my eye with light or welding… It’s sopposed to disperse this energy with everything it touches even air. But this injury suggests that there could still be charged particles floating around with enough energy to cause immediate injuries. That could be permanent. And lead to cancer later on. This kind of capacitance wasn’t seen with other fuels… but mox mixed plutonium and uranium together… they are not stable and create their own energy in this state when nothing separates them. Mixed with old fuels of various blends the outcome is unpredictable… but we are witnessing multiple extinction events… as well as new life forms and buckyballs.

[@jayytee8062]

@@pazsion Nonsense!

[@frankxray]

Beautifully done, Drew. You caught me with the Oppenheimer 70mm piece. Here’s something completely different but just as interesting. Your attention to detail shows. Please keep it up

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

As I recall, the water from the reactors had to sit in the holding ponds appx 14 hours before it was down to a low enough level considered marginally safe to be released into the Columbia River. HOWEVER, as the demand for increased Plutonium production increased, the time allotted for the water in the holding ponds was reduced and the holing ponds were emptied of their much HOTTER contents,... including IRRADIATED FUEL from split and cracked fuel elements that happened often and without warning in the reactor, the result of hot spots in the fuel cans , poor sealing during the canning process , pin holes in the joints and seams and over heating causing the fuel cans to rupture and the cooling water to carry this now radioactive fuel out into the open air of the ponds ! The only safety was that this very heavy metal would sink to the bottom of the ponds and be shielded by the depth of the water alone ! This now presented a new set of problems that the entire capacity of the holding ponds COULD NOT be emptied and a minimum water level had to be maintained over the OUT-OF-THE-CAN fuel to prevent exposure to personnel outside near the ponds.

[@markae0]

13:14 Reason to identify location, for firefighters? a fire would burn the plastic case and expose the element?

[@daryllect6659]

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with four violations concerning improper disposal and transfer of tritium exit signs at its stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The violations, issued Oct. 28, concerned the improper transfer or disposal of 2,462 signs from Wal-Mart stores in states under NRC jurisdiction between 2000 and 2008, and the improper transfer of an additional 517 signs between various Wal-Mart facilities. The company also failed to appoint an official responsible for complying with regulatory requirements and failed to report broken or damaged signs as required."

[@dkohler5226]

Go figure.

[@stickynorth]

I remember watching a 60 Minutes segment about it like 20 years ago but no update... Thank you for this video!

[@TheGreatGastronaut]

Thanks Drew. A well presented explanation that anyone can relate to. You asked why the media like to use those esoteric units of measure when reporting and sadly it’s because they use it to create tension, sensation and drama (for many reasons that I won’t go into). If the media used your rational form of presentation for their report on Fukushima, that alternative version would not be “marketable” - as in “who cares” instead of sounding scary and dramatic. My new Radiacode 102 arrived in just a few days after ordering, a far cry from the long wait I had for the ‘101 a year ago. It actually arrived ahead of their estimate! It really is a well-designed, simple device and a tenth of the cost of the Rad-Eye detector you also showed. The small form factor makes it something easy to throw into a pocket or backpack and doesn’t draw attention, something I can’t avoid with my much larger Canberra/Mirion RDS-100P (AN/PDR-77) system.

[@Hookmodo]

Thanks for releasing this one early on Patreon, love the videos!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

No problem. I figure I need to start doing early releases for my members on there.

[@Lex1uth3r]

Great video as always! Love those Cammenga compasses, they were my first memorable experience with radioactive glowing things when I was in the Army. Aside from being sooo much better for land navigation than what I had in boy scouts as a kid, it was incredible at night. Way better that the glow in the dark painted stuff, and probably the first radioactive thing I bought after how well it served me previously. Really cool to see one in your collection.

[@jaakkooksa5374]

I once calculated how much radioactivity there is in all of the world's oceans that comes from natural radioisotopes, mainly Potassium-40, and compared it to the radioactivity that has reportedly leaked from Fukushima into the ocean. The ratio was in the order of many billions. This tells us that the volume of water in oceans is so huge that any human radioactive contamination that leaks into the ocean is negligible and meaningless.

[@codycarabotta5621]

So by those words, you claim that it is 100% factual that multiple nuclear reactors that are cracked open from say a tsunami, then pulled into the ocean, no lasting impact will be had? Its fine, itll clear up eventually. No animals or plants could possibly be impacted by it. The world will take care of itself. Bullshit. Those numbers are not logical chief. Your formula is missing a fuck ton of* variables.

[@thomasschulz2167]

That leads me to wonder how dilution would affect the scales. As on a macro level the radiological impact would be negligible. But unlike particles of isotopes pre-existing suspended in solution, humanity has a habit of concentrating radiological materials for effect. On the localized micro scale, that would manifest as a higher dose rate than should be expected in the localized environment until currents eventually diluted the material if it was suspended in a liquid. However larger sediment/material would fallout and remain till covered with mud and sea floor silt to finally lock it away. Potentially introducing concentrated radiological material into the food chain. Though that risk is probably vanishingly small.

[@paulomendes928]

Every single video is an impressive new demonstration of your filming skills. Keep the good job! I just love watching them! Take it easy!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks…really like hearing that.

[@maritimeroutdoors6386]

I am very used to the seivert scale (Milli and Micro) for my 5 years in the nuclear industry. Love your channel and your content!!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks so much. It seems like people that have worked in the industry really like the content. Other people that see themselves as professionals that have never worked a day in their life around sources are very critical of some of the things I do. Again, glad you enjoy the content.

[@Kriss_L]

We use mrem at work, and I always have to convert seiverts to mrem when watching videos. We're probably the only ones still using mrem.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@Kriss_L it seems like the nuclear industry as a whole uses mrem.

[@Kriss_L]

@@RadioactiveDrew I thought it was just the US Navy that still used it.

[@leonardmichaelwrinch446]

Thanks Drew ‼️another great show ,I always wish they were longer ‼️👍

[@heart3898]

I love this. This is live science. You are showing what you are doing, and making a point to show that radiation isn't always a boogeyman. I hope you live past 90 and show that radiation exposure isn't a death sentence even a bit high over time. My question is, if you become terminally ill in your 60s, would you automatically be like, "just the luck of the draw, wasn't all that radiation I got." or automatically "Well I screwed up, I thought I was fine with a little bit at a time over many years." You see where I am getting at, nuance matters. I appreciate your commitment to it!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Well if I did get cancer I would do research on that type and see if its linked to radiation exposure. I don't smoke and try to get out an exercise in a somewhat regular fashion. So if I do get cancer of any kind I could see it being skin cancer because that does run in my family and I spend a lot of time outside exposed to the sun.

[@frostheave1960]

Excellent Drew! I finally ordered a Radiacode 102. Keep em coming!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Awesome. Hope you enjoy it. I get a lot of use out of mine.

[@shook0002]

Have you ever thought of teaching nuclear science formally? Your presentation is excellent and you keep it interesting. I don’t know much about radiation but I learn from your videos.

[@socal33]

Excellent production value. Very educational from a laymans perspective as well. Thank you for the information.

[@farklek]

I was looking through the comments and your little profile picture jumped out at me and made me feel nostalgic lol. I'm starting to get old. I haven't seen that logo in so long.

[@jayc2469]

I have to say that you have done an Amazing job of truly putting the levels of radiation coming from Fukushima into perspective!! Hat's off to you sir! Thumbs up too, but I'm already subscribed so thats the best I can do right now!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for the sub and comment. Everything helps making this content possible.

[@jayc2469]

@@RadioactiveDrew Thanks for replying bud! Do you have any members services to chuck some $ your way? :)

[@B10Flipster]

Love your videos Drew, thanks a lot! As a German, my attention was suddenly raised when you tried to say "Bremsstrahlung". The pronunciation was only half correct, but I immediately recognized this (German) word. (Sorry if my English is not perfect.)

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Well not bad for getting the pronunciation half correct.

[@jaakkooksa5374]

Tritium is such a "soft" radioisotope that it is even used in consumer products. It is not an environmental problem by any stretch of imagination.

[@Dreamhelmet]

Will you bet your life on it?!

[@jaakkooksa5374]

@@Dreamhelmet What a bizarre question. I do not have to bet my life on anything. Still, I know it is true, because I have at least some understanding pf physics.

[@Dreamhelmet]

@@jaakkooksa5374 - You have no courage of your convictions, so don't tell others there is no danger! Admit you just like nuke stuff!

[@jaakkooksa5374]

@@Dreamhelmet No, that's not the case. I simply have some degree of understanding about physics, which enables me to base my views on actual understanding of the subject, and not on assumptions not based on reality.

[@jfobear1953]

I have enjoyed your videos for some time now. Always great information that is presented well. Thank you also for the drone footage accompanied by music. Those videos have also been continuously improving. A Happy, Healthy, 2024 to you and yours!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks so much. Have a happy New Year.

[@TrystyKat]

*pure* H2O (deionised/demineralised water) doesn't really activate much, if at all. The problem with using river water (and what shocked me) is that it has much more in it than just H2O. There's all kinds of dissolved minerals and suspended solids, and those are going to undergo neutron activation.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

They were filtering the river water before passing it through the reactors.

[@TrystyKat]

@@RadioactiveDrew Even so, that's only going to screen out fish, plant matter, sand, gravel, divers (it has happened at a PWR) and other objects. Unless any of the fuel elements were breached (like what happened at Windscale Pile 1), the spiciness (technical term, I work in nuclear, trust me on this) of the coolant after passing through the core was likely caused by neutron activation of suspended solids and dissolved minerals in the water. They were almost certainly producing Tritium here, through the radiolysis of Lithium-6, but it would have been contained within the fuel element along with the Plutonium and other fission products, same as at Windscale. Very little of the Tritium would have been allowed to escape as it was (and still is) a vital component of boosted fission and thermonuclear weapons. Having said all that, your point still stands that throwing one exit sign a day into the Pacific Ocean isn't going to amount to a whole heap of beans.

[@davidogle9247]

Man, I love your videos. Thanks for enlightening us. Just ordered my Radicode 102. They are running a 10% off sale right now.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Oh wow, I didn’t even know that. Good for anyone looking to get a Radiacode.

[@oganvildevil]

Got into it with someone over Hanford's water use and he threw an absolute tantrum that it couldn't be because no commercial reactor would ever be allowed to operate that way. He was a nuclear engineer. Dunno if he was lying to me or himself in that moment. Edit; yes, Hanford is not a commercial reactor. That's the joke.

[@MrSunrise-]

He's right; however, Hanford was not commercial. It was consistently and recklessly operated by various government agencies and their contractors. When it came time to clean up the site, years were wasted battling about who would pay, and what level of decontamination was acceptable.

[@PhattyMo]

He's probably right,No (commercial) reactor would be operated that way _now_ . And Hanford is probably a big reason why,it was early days,and things were a bit..'less than ideal'. Lessons learned,Rules are written in blood,etc.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

As mentioned Hanford is not a commercial reactor for generating electricity. Hanford's purpose was to make weapons grade plutonium. Savannah River (SC) is now the remaining facility for making isotopes, for nuclear weapons. These government facilities, like Area 51, have no environmental oversight, and often recklessly handle and dump their hazardous waste.

[@robinwells8879]

Hanford was part of a potentially life and death struggle and sometimes you have to crack eggs to make an omelette! In the UK, I believe that our domestic Hanford equivalent was visible from the motorway as you passed the Lake District in northwest England. I heard it described as a power station “that never exported much electricity”. 😂

[@Robert_McGarry_Poems]

​@@michaelmoorrees3585Santa Susana Field Lab, Southern California... I feel like the problem wasn't that people didn't understand the risks/hazards ... what did that man say when the demon core slipped shut...."well, that about does it for me." They knew damn well what they were doing. The problem was that if they wanted to retain the government funding, which was a very large amount, they had to meet deadlines. The deadlines were not forgiving nor did they allow for oversight, hence the burn pits still affecting the area to this day... They let these scientists go to work as if playing God. The knowledge disparity was enough to create "The darkness in the valley" mentality... people were genuinely scared and had no context for understanding what any of this meant. This early research era, unfortunately cost lives then, and future lives to cancers now. But more than that, it cost the US any kind of nuclear future, as well. Had we just built a culture of oversight and safety from the beginning, had the US actually cared about the people they pretend to protect. We might not need endless warfare for oil... But the scar tissue from the 40's-50's has never healed. We couldn't even make Yucca mountain work! The problems are multi faceted because human emotion is. On paper, in theory, there is still no denying the potential of nuclear to be humanities savior from oil wars. But that would mean letting go of the past, and focusing on bettering the conversation today. Fossil fuel emissions prove that humans just aren't willing to be critical about their own perceived involvement in something that someone else labels a catastrophe. We see nuclear meltdown, we don't see fossil fuel emissions... That is the plain and simple of it. Even if on a per footprint basis, nuclear will never come close to matching what oil has done to the planet.

[@dalenewton8804]

If a year ago someone were to ask me if I would be interested in this type of content; I would've said, no, on the face of it. Though somehow this is one of my favorite channels. I suspect I'm able absorb Drew's pedagogy, because he truly enjoys making these videos.

[@richardgraham1167]

Great explanation correlating the exit sign tritium content to the Fukushima seawater equivalent. I had figured the concentration to be super low, but you nailed how to describe it concisely. Thanks!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

That's what's missing from all these explanations on contamination...a physical object for people to see. Its meaningless to not have some reference to go with those numbers.

[@project-326]

Great Video, the EXIT sign is a great unit of measurement for consideration of the discharges that are happening at Fukushima. The only slight difference is that the much of the Fukashima water is T2O, not dissolved H-3, and the body will very readily take in T2O as it cannot differentiate between it and H2O. Another useful unit of comparison is that the average human has about 4500 Bq of activity from various sources at any given time. Drinking a whole liter of the raw Fukushima waste water, would only increase a persons average activity by about 1500 Bq...

[@OnTheRiver66]

Good video! I can understand in the 40s the lack of concern at releasing contaminated water in the river since they did not have a full understanding of radiation hazards, but by the late 50s and 60s they should have known better. The various ways of measuring radiation is so confusing so thank you for making it more understandable. I have some understanding of micro sieverts and CPM and can relate that to my background level, but the others have no meaning to me. You always put radiation levels in terms we can understand and that is very useful. I have a tritium compass but it stopped glowing years ago.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I try to explain the radiation in my videos as best as I can without getting too much into the weeds on the details. I want to entertain and educate people. There is a fine line to do both.

[@lajohnson1967]

@@RadioactiveDrew-You do that very well! I think the reach will always be more if technical information is kept relatable, but accurate, which you do! Stay safe friend and keep up the good work.

[@martylost167]

They knew and tested it on blacks that got hurt in Oak Ridge. Then there was the demon core and there was Marie Curie(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie). Why build a reactor Hanford Washington? They had 1 in Oak Ridge.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@Junkinsally thanks. Glad you liked it.

[@HappyQuailsFarm]

The Radiacode 103 is now available, which is the upgraded 102. It is available from the manufacturer on Amazon. It is best to hold the detector id close to the soil when detecting radiation depositions.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The 103G just came out. This is a little different from the 102 and 103. It uses a different detector that has better gamma resolution and is more robust.

[@PhattyMo]

Yes,finally! The Hanford site is a nightmare. The more I learn about it,the more I'm horrified...and It seems like very few people around here even know about it. I'm happy to see you in my neck of the woods,and glad you're bringing light to the Hanford site. I'm not too worried about the cooling water/river,or residual radiation from it these days,but maybe I should be.. The "unknown slurry" left in those huge storage tanks,the contamination everywhere at the site,and what is being stored there,is what scares me. If those tanks start leaking (and many are) God Only Knows what is coming out of them. I urge people to research the Hanford site,and what is being done there. The cleanup is pretty interesting. There is still a reactor running near there for electricity generation. I hope you're going to make a stop at the old Trojan site. Or maybe the abandoned cooling tower site just outside of Elma,Wa. (Satsop,I think. -IIRC,there is another type of reactor running near there,also.)

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I did a video about Satsop. I went there with the Seattle fire department when they were doing some training exercises there. One of my favorite places to photograph.

[@jasonbarron6164]

Sharp memory good info listen up people

[@richardom6539]

It isn't hard to find out about the wastes in the underground waste storage tanks at Hanford and the work being done to remove it from the tanks and convert it into glass. The EPA, WA and Oregon environmental agencies are intimately involved in the decisions. It isn't a secret. It isn't probably as scary as you think it is.

[@jasonbarron6164]

@@richardom6539 probably scarier than the agencies propaganda machine says it is

[@kevincrosby1760]

@@richardom6539 Unfortunately, you get more attention with "We're all gonna die" than you do with "TSCR" or "DFLAW". The uneducated will always panic and freak out. Personally, I'm enjoying the nice breeze through the windows and having my snack. I'll admit to working somewhere miles NW of the Columbia Generating Station and leave it at that.

[@frederickbowman4494]

Such a great video know I am starting to understand thanks so much!!!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@cropduster2740]

We the people are exposed to so much through our environment, food and water. Our bodies can adapt to many things, but what will kill us all is nano plastics.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah, those nano-plastics are very concerning.

[@Dreamhelmet]

Your body will adapt to radiation when it is dead!

[@venomstorm53]

Awesome video! I really like your content! It's awesome!!

[@bruschi8148]

The pilgrim nuclear power plant where I live they were denied releasing a million gallons of water. They used all sorts of scare tactics and it was going to be released over something like 10 years

[@RadioactiveDrew]

If it was only tritium contaminated water it would have been fine to be released.

[@JDavidChilders]

Excellent video! Thank you for putting things in perspective!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@ypcomchic]

I pray you never get cancer Drew. Handling all these small particle items and walking in radioactive areas of USA.

[@danadurnfordkevinblanchdebunk]

All areas on the planet are radioactive.

[@markrobinson7831]

Very educational. Loved the explanation.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks. I try and approach the subject so that most people can get a better understanding.

[@TheTarrMan]

Yeah, they do do a horrible job explaining nuclear physics. Thank you for explaining it. It still fascinates me that you can put two materials next to each-other and they get hot. Almost like a magnetic effect but we're not allowed to play with it so it's always a mystery.

[@solanaceae2069]

We were looking at some Hanford Site cleanup contracts back in the 1990s. Kind of glad we ended up passing on the project; not out of fear of radiation, but because it would've meant leaving Montana for extended periods over years.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

That place is going to be a problem for a long time. I could see working the site if I lived somewhat close. Montana is a bit of a trek that’s for sure.

[@venomstorm53]

I bought a Bauer gravy boat from an Antique Shop a few days ago. The person at the front desk was a fellow radiation hobbyist, and showed me some old Soviet geiger counters, and some fiesta ware. I found a piece, (the gravy boat), that was making my geiger counter angry as soon as I pointed it in the direction of the pottery. It got up to 12k CPM.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Sounds like a nice find. What color was it?

[@venomstorm53]

@@RadioactiveDrew It was bright orange, and it was only $15! :)

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@venomstorm53 that sounds like a good deal.

[@venomstorm53]

@@RadioactiveDrew I agree! :D

[@grantpratt299]

I live near the hanford sight 15 miles away, they get paniced anytime there is a gras fire on or near the site, what is being released from the burning vegitation that they would be concerned with? And how harmful is it?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

From what I have seen and read about the subject...there is very little risk of anything getting off the site from grass burning. Now if one of the reactors caught fire or one of the burial sites was burning...I would be very concerned.

[@jonathanedelson6733]

It is no more difficult to say 'so many milligrams of Tritium' or 'so many Bq of Tritium'. Both numbers will change similarly over time. External exposure to a beta emitter is very different from internal exposure. Internal exposure to a beta emitter that doesn't bioaccumulate is very different than one which does bioaccumulate. Jon

[@ausnorman8050]

Fantastic video as always Drew. Cheers!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@Santy_Claws]

Amazing video! As someone who just got into the hobby of finding radioactive items I really love your content, it really helped me understand things that I didn't know before. You're one of the best creators on the platform man!! 🙏

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks so much for that comment. Always nice to hear someone enjoying these videos and getting a new interest out of them.

[@ttp7000]

This is so cool to see you filming in my state! Great vid, per usual! 👍👍

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Oregon is a pretty beautiful state. I really want to go back to Astoria and do some more exploring in the area.

[@christopherbusenkell8633]

sadly, people might assume that because there's plant and animals and they seem unaffected in their environment, that there is no contamination here and they're safe to eat. happens with heavy metals and radiation, the organisms either don't live long enough to be affected or aren't affected by it. so they enter the food market. a habit of eating food like that is not good.

[@danadurnfordkevinblanchdebunk]

All food on the planet, plant or animal, has always been radioactive.

[@daanski82]

From the Netherlands thanks for this interesting video what will explain alot for everyone!

[@Rusty-METAL-J]

Radium(Ra, 88) was probably put in some of the paint for compasses, but the biggest usage of all time was hands in clocks and watches.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I have some radium clocks, compasses and aircraft gauges. The earlier items doped with radium usually have a lot of the material in them.

[@Rusty-METAL-J]

@RadioactiveDrew that's Kewl. I have a lone hand in a glass ampule.

[@NoahTheFacts]

Not only was this interesting and informative, it was unexpectedly cinematic and beautiful.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks…glad you thought that way about the video.

[@Zyzzyx42]

I've lived in Richland, WA for almost 20 years now. My dad worked in the nuclear industry for 30 years, mostly construction related, moving all over the place. Would be great to see you do more content related to Hanford; past, present, and future. Maybe you have? I haven't looked thru your video history yet.

[@danadurnfordkevinblanchdebunk]

I have done simple geiger counter testing in and around Hanford, including B Reactor. Spent overnight in Richland and did an overnight reading there as well. No different radiation levels than anywhere else in the country at that altitude.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

If you think that's bad. Three Mile Island in PA sits on the Susquehana River - the same river the Hershey's chocolate plant takes all its water in from for making Hershey's bars. Also Portland, OR is on the Willimette River which forks right off the Columbia.

[@prof.heinous191]

Great to see someone talking radiological sense, and great to see you back in the saddle. One of the big problems here is, who's going to believe anyone from government or industry to tell the truth on the dangers involved - that's where Drew steps in!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Back in the saddle? I try and put out a video every two weeks...or sooner if I can.

[@prof.heinous191]

Great - that means I have some serious catching up to do...@@RadioactiveDrew

[@privatear2001]

I liked your video as it exposed something I never knew about the Hanford site. Its always sobering to see the cancer and other disease numbers that are much higher along the route of radioactive contamination (for some unknown reason). Really like that handheld scintillation unit too. Wanted one something like this for years. Was going to buy a 2" CsI(Tl) crystal for my old counter and computer setup, but think I'd rather put the money toward the Radiacode 103 model. Much smaller crystal but easier interfaces. Regarding radiation in the Pacific, as far as I understand, a nuclear explosion or meltdown releases many different radioactive isotopes, not just Tritium. And there may be all kinds of daughter isotopes in the decay chain, all with different half-lives. Looks like Cs 137 and 134 don't have much of a decay chain themselves, which I guess is good. There must be a ton of these released from a nuclear meltdown though. Yet most people compare it all to the radiation in a banana. So none of these affect the oceans or sea life at all? I've always wondered about that. I have a sneaky suspicion that's not quite true and we'll see this in years to come. I hope I'm wrong though. :) Thanks for the video and all the best!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I focused on the tritium because that's what everyone was freaking out about when Japan started dumping that water. There are plenty of other isotopes that where released during that incident but its really only a problem in that general area on land. What is being released and now and before won't be a problem for any see life.

[@johnbogle6475]

You make an interesting point. I have always been confused by the ever changing radiation dose names. sieverts, Rads, Curries, Rems, and now Becquerel . I realize some of these may be narrow in their scope (like measuring only Beta or Gama rays) but to your average consumer (me :), it can be confusing. Also this "misunderstanding" can also fraud on the part of those reporting. How about "pick a lane" and stay in it. This reminds me of the naming convention for USB (few people know how fast it really is :). Enjoyed your video, Thanks

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks...glad you enjoyed it. The science of radiation is a vast discipline.

[@madmax2069]

yeah like with HDMI, they keep changing what it means just like with USB. its hard to find an actual HDMI 2.1 TV or device since they done away with HDMI 2.0 testing and now labeled all new HDMI 2.0 TVs as HDMI 2.1. I fully understand the Sievert scale, but not really any of the others ( I have very limited understanding on rads, greys, rems, and becquerel.

[@dymytryruban4324]

Curie and Becquerel are units of activity, not dose. They are related to number of disintegrations per unit of time.

[@ct2368]

Great video. Really puts things in perspective. Thanks.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@CoLLectiNgCAtS-q2q]

Lived in Tullahoma TN for 10 years. Arnold Air force base is there with underground wind tunnels. They check shuttle tiles, why one broke off, and jet engines. We used to water tube on Tim Fords Lake connected to the base. My dear friend Mike, who passed of cancer, was . Colonel at the base. He said do not eat the catfish due to all the PCBs on bottom of Lake as it's water was used to cool the wind tunnels. Beautiful lake and base if you want to chk radiation levels there. I like your channel very much. I subbed. Thank you!❤

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks for the story. There is so much I need to investigate. A lot of people let me know of places to check out. Thanks for the sub.

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

There are WARNING SIGNS all along the Clinch River warning NOT to swim in the water or to fish either,... the results of years, decades of radioactive waste dumping and pollution from Oak Ridge !

[@Kriss_L]

There were some really big fish in the Offutt AFB lake, and I'd see a lot of people fishing when I'd go kayaking there, but I wouldn't eat anything from that lake. All the runoff from the flightline went in there, for decades.

[@adamantturner5019]

Great video! As always, very informative.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@josephvanas6352]

Yeah the single pass reactors at Hanford dumped a lot of isotopes into the Columbia infact there is still detectible amounts of Cs-137 and other fission and activation products downstream of Hanford in river sediment especially sediment holdup on the lower Columbia dams. I think it was PNNL who did a study of this about 20 years ago. That is just what ended up in the river. There was also emissions from the chemical separation facility stacks especially early on with things like the green run. There is a reason that the downwinders filed a lawsuit I believe in the 90s.

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

Yes, for not only the GREEN RUN ,... (1949,Nov. ) but for the entire operating life of the reactors and the Chemical Separation Bldgs. Also was the wild fire that hit the Hanford Site and all the radiation monitors were going off due to the re-release of radioactive materials sent into the air from the fire and smoke ! This is PROOF POSITIVE of the vast amounts of radio chemical releases at Hanford and from the venting of the radioactive materials from the Tank Farm as well !

[@Seat1AJoe]

Always the best. Thanks Drew!

[@juhajarkkoulvila7041]

Oh my gosh, didn't know about this cooling water dumped into Columbia river. That was bad 🙈

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Much worse than what Fukushima is doing.

[@Dreamhelmet]

The poor Salmon - and the people who ate them!

[@CloudSpecter]

Love the show and tell, can't wait for the next video

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks. Hopefully new video this week.

[@Dr.Pepper001]

I'm 77 and when I was a kid we would go to shoe stores and the salesman would take us over to an x-ray machine and we could see our feet inside the shoes to see how well they fit. I remember wiggling my toes and seeing them. I could see the bones because it was x-ray. Crazy. They finally outlawed the machines. There's no telling how many shoe salesmen died before their time from being exposed to x-rays day after day.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I’ve heard of these fluoroscopes before and they have one at the Nuclear Science and History Museum in New Mexico. I want to do a video about it but I need to find someone that has a working one that’s willing to fire it up.

[@MARILYNANDERSON88]

My friend blamed those x-rays for his cancer of the big toe. I still examine my toes for cancer after his experience.

[@rabidbeaver167]

Omfg lol.

[@Dreamhelmet]

I saw those too! Old timer! LOL

[@slaytonmarks7537]

Very helpful to understand the basics for ocean radiation contamination.

[@kingcanada2588]

I agree with the point of your video, but the way you got there isnt that good you should read ICRP Publication 119 it has all the exact values for the inhalation/ingestion of tritium. Infact it has values for pretty much every isotope you'd be able to find. Anyways the internal dose for tritiated water is 666 mSv/Ci. you should mention the purpose of the unit bq and Ci, which is to measure how many times the atoms in the sample decay per second You shouldn't be showing the danger of tritium tubes with a simple pancake, none of the beta particles make it out of the glass tritium tube, and most of the bremsstrahlung is also too low energy to be detected. Tritiated water is dangerous, but you barely went over the most important factor here, which is the dilution. The main reason why it's safe to dump tritiated water into the ocean is because the amount of gallons it gets diluted into is insanely high, so that a human wouldn't be able to drink even a single bq. This isnt hate just trying to educate all of us.

[@physgun1]

It frustrates me that a comment like this with valid criticism and factual evidence is just swept under the rug by drew. It's obvious that he can't take criticism, and in the world of science, that could be a dangerous mistake.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@physgun1 How is this comment “swept under the rug”? It was just posted. I also have a life outside of KZbin.

[@kingcanada2588]

@@RadioactiveDrew I posted this comment two times and it disappeared. I slightly edited it so maybe KZbin auto deleted it. In that case sorry

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@kingcanada2588 I have zero control over comments KZbin deletes. I know others run into the same problem for posting links or something like that.

[@kingcanada2588]

@@RadioactiveDrew ah ok sorry about that then

[@d.b.1176]

Nice video, keep up the good work 👍🏻

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@hawks1282]

I really like seeing the numbers they talk about expressed in terms that are more intuitive. It really helps explain what's actually going on when the media or polititions are trying to sensationalize what's going to to scare folks.

[@cribbsprojects]

Always interesting. Keep up the good work.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@mercurial703]

I have always been fascinated by radiation, especially since I did an essay on Chernobyl in 1993 for school. Loving your channel and the content you bring to the table. Thank you Radioactive Drew!

[@jayc2469]

Excellent video, Drew!! I own a few of these vials of Tritium in various forms, mostly as you've shown in Kit Markers etc. Braking Radiation was how I learned about Radiation and what the difference between that given off by Tritium and that off Uranium Glass. I bought a Radiascan Dosimeter a few years back but I've not yet been in touch with Serge about the Incredible Radiacode 101!! I actually own a Bronze model of Chernobyl Unit 4 with small Tritium Vials, glowing as the exposed fuel in the reactor! (That I got from the makers of the Radiacode & Radiascan devices!!)

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I've seen that bronze model in a couple different videos...looks pretty cool. If I could have fit it in I would have shown how those tritium vials were about 3x more radioactive than the point on the sign I was measuring. I think this might have something to do with the material used in the vials as that can effect the braking radiation intensity.

[@JackThelRipper]

Thanks for another great video! Love the nerd knowledge!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

No problem, glad you enjoyed it.

[@southforkjim8980]

Most in the public don't have a way of comparing with Exit signs either. Here are a couple ways that could be more helpful to some: For scale, the Pacific Ocean already contains 8,400 grams of pure tritium from natural and bomb test sources while Japan will release 0.06 grams of tritium every year. The minuscule amount of extra radiation won’t make the tiniest bit of difference. A lifetime’s worth of seafood caught a few kilometres from the ocean outlet has the tritium radiation equivalent of one bite of a banana.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

An exit sign is something people see in their day to day lives. So I think its one of the best comparisons...in my opinion.

[@southforkjim8980]

@@RadioactiveDrew Sure, but I don't know if every assumes an exit sign is safe if you break it open and put it in water to drink. In fact, I doubt most people know that exit signs can be radioactive. Either way, thanks for trying to help people understand this is a non-event.

[@christopherfranz1547]

I wonder how many actual exit signs washed into the Pacific Ocean during the tsunami (if Japan uses tritium signs)...

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Now that would be interesting to find out.

[@collectorguy3919]

Clever. Japan will certainly use smoke detectors.

[@darrinpearce9780]

Yet another excellent factual analysis, thanks for posting.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@mikeburgess7331]

Drew, how about if you take some core samples along the Columbia River and check them for isotopes with your gamma spectrometer. I am sure there is some Cesium as its half life is around 30 years? The early cartridges were made of aluminum, I believe, and they occasionally failed. The isotopes will still probably be in the silt along the river. There are some hot spots, I am sure.

[@getmeagator]

Yes, indeed. Thankfully, the water being released at Fukashima has been filtered for pretty much all isotopes of concern, except the nearly-impossible-to-separate tritium.

[@TallTexasGMan]

So as an exit sign with a tritium core, I am in the understanding these are supposed to be used in areas where it is unfeasible to install an electrified sign or in an area where electrifying a sign could be hazardous as these are intrinsically safe. Does that seem right?

[@VistaViews]

And just think… I was conceived in decently close proximity to Hanford and loved within eye shot of the steam plumes for half my child hood. My grandmother worked at Hanford for decades until she retired. She was diagnosed not long after with small cell lung and liver cancer. Hanford was more than happy to pick up the tab for all medical treatment, hospitalizations and eventually hospice care until she died. Personally I think her daughter should have sued them but its not really my family’s way. ANYWAY. I find it kind of coincidental that any part of my family, including myself, that grew up around there have more than a handful of health problems (not cancer) but almost none of the family that didn’t, have no real health issues. Conspiracy or coincidence??? Hmmm

[@treelineresearch3387]

Thing about sites like Hanford, Rocky Flats, Oak Ridge and the rest is they weren't only contaminated with and/or dumping nuclear materials, they were just as much mid-century industrial chemical sites. All the unfriendly halogenated compounds (PCBs/dioxins, chlorinated solvents like DCM and carbon tet) that were in common use and weren't really recognized as being particularly hazardous at the time were present, as well as heavy metals, asbestos, and all kinds of petroleum products.

[@mediocreman2]

Nice video. Been eyeing the Better Geiger S2 for awhile now.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The Better Geiger detectors are a great way to get into the hobby.

[@JohnBrown-vn2qw]

when i was a kid i used to swim in the columbia river all the time. i was a good swimmer. even better now thanks to my third arm

[@comment8767]

It affected your brain too.

[@RandoTark]

This is awesome! I had no idea about that part of history along the Columbia =) ... gives me something to look into when I get my radiacode!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I would like to investigate the Columbia River a bit more and see what can be found.

[@cathrinewhite7629]

My mom & her 3 best friends were Hanford release downwinders. All had cancer by their mid-forties. Most died within a year or so. I won't eat Columbia river- farmed salmon😱. Alaskan wild/(Copper River) only. My husband's grandparents had a farm in Hood River. I've read about the water problems there. I brought my own lol😅.

[@WJV9]

What type of cancer did they have? Was it related to Hanford radiation? Were they smokers? There are many types of cancers and many types of carcinogens, my uncle died from cancer in his 70's but his was from skin cancer and he worked outdoors as a lineman most of his life and likely never used sun blocker lotions so that would explain his cancer. Cause and effect is not as simple as you make it out to be.

[@cathrinewhite7629]

@@WJV9 No they were in one of the xtian religions that didn't let you smoke or drink. My mom helped run the first healthfood store in our town. They got multiple types..mom died with 5 kinds, but it started with non-hodjkins Lymphoma. I can't remember her 2 friends cancer panels..but they all died with multiple types. One started in her brain..all got sick in their early 40's, premenopausal.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@WJV9 this is what I try to remind people. The dose of radiation that can cause cancer is usually very high. I’ve met people that don’t smoke that have worked in a high radon environment their whole life with no lung cancer. There can be other factors in the environment that can cause cancer. A lot of it seems to be from chemical exposure over time.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@cathrinewhite7629 this sounds more like chemical exposure over years. That exposure could have come from Hanford for sure.

[@The-One-and-Only100]

What if you buy an exit sign off like eBay or something? Would it be registered to you or the person you bought it from, and would it be legal to keep it after the expiration date

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Good question...I've never bought one from eBay or Amazon. When I bought mine the sale went through another company and they asked about the address for the sign. So maybe there is some process that happens after you buy on those other sites.

[@The-One-and-Only100]

@RadioactiveDrew Maybe, but I guess the only way to find out is to buy one 🤷

[@Chuntruck]

Southeast Washington State resident here (an hour downwind of Hanford, relatives that worked there.) Have lost multiple relatives to cancer, including my mother. It is poor here. It is a cultural backwater (my county, for example, is still not even 100 years away from its last Klan march.) It's the perfect place to pollute, due to the residents', shall we say, unquestioning nature. I've lived on the other side of the mountains, on the west side. After being spotted in a PDX bar with a book about our environmental disasters, I had a man tell me, "Let 'em die." The attitude is that it's our fault, and we're sending the radiation down the river, and screw us for not doing anything about it, we deserve to suffer. The point: a lot of the locals in the East don't care, and those in power in the OR/WA state seats on the West don't care about people in the East. They refer to us as "jawas" (or however you spell those Star Wars desert things) or inbred, etc. (The last part is partially true, the further East you go.) We are an afterthought. A noxious threat to the West side's working order. I often find myself disgusted by the attitudes of those in this area who ignore Hanford's threat (those people often have other noxious beliefs, refer to above.) To everyone outside of here...remember where most of your wheat and potatoes are grown. Enjoy your poisoned food, hope that apathy works out for you.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The Hanford site is terribly contaminated and I don’t see how they can ever clean it up. It’s a great example of how government works with zero restrictions.

[@Dreamhelmet]

A whole lot of the fruits and veggies we all love comes from around Hanford. Pro-nuke people will deny the dangers since radiation from plants takes years to finally kill you!

[@bradboardwell8295]

Another great video, Sir!!!! Keep it up 👍🏼💪🏻💪🏻

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@jdbarney]

I wrote the text below back in July, 2023. Your videos are always an excellent source of information, and I think you offer a very balanced approach. Unfortunately, there really isn't a "better" approach to dealing with the tritiated water being stored at Fukushima. But let's not ignore two things: it is still solving pollution through dilution, and they are still actively producing more contaminated water at the site. You can't put a timetable on it because nobody knows when it will end. Anyway - hope someone benefits from my thoughts below. There is a lecture question about "radioactive cookies" used by professors of nuclear physics to help students understand the different radiation risks posed to humans by alpha, beta, and gamma emitters. It goes like this. You have three radioactive cookies. One is an alpha emitter, one a beta emitter, one a gamma emitter. You must eat one, sit on one, and throw one out the window. How do you minimize your radiation dose? The answer is, "Eat the gamma, sit on the alpha, and throw away the beta." I won't explain it all here, but you can go look it up online if you are interested. The key takeaway is that ingesting alpha or beta radiation is very bad (ideally, you should never ingest anything radioactive). There are three naturally occurring isotopes of Hydrogen: Protium, Deuterium, and Tritium. Of those three, only Tritium is a radioactive. It is a beta emitter with a half-life of about 12 years. Naturally occurring Tritium is extremely rare on Earth. It is, however, artificially created by the irradiation of Lithium in nuclear reactors (which is great if you are looking for a source of fuel for nuclear fusion in hydrogen weapons). Before I go too far off track, back to Tritium being a beta emitter (the cookie we want to throw away). When Tritium is exposed to water, it displaces the Protium atom with itself - resulting in something called tritiated water. Outside the human body, this isn't a big deal. But if ingested via food or water, it can be more concerning. The half-life inside the body is relatively short (7-14 days). Not a huge deal if it is a one-time exposure. But what if the food you are consuming is exposed? What if the fish you eat was swimming in tritiated water? That brings us full circle to today's real world problem with plans to release tritiated water into the ocean a half-mile offshore of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Officials at TEPCO and the IAEA say it is safe because the tritiated water has been diluted. But what about the fishermen who catch and sell fish in that region? Do you want to eat those fish? Of course these agencies "support" the release of the tritiated water. Is it really safe, or is it because there is nothing else that can be done economically to solve the problem? It's the oldest trick in the book - solving pollution through dilution. What they are glossing over is that this isn't a one time release. They will be releasing contaminated water for decades, and the site is still producing more contaminated water every day. TEPCO's plan is to dilute the water to 1,500 becquerels of tritium per liter. For comparison, the United States has a more conservative limit of 740 becquerels per liter.

[@mahbriggs]

Are you worried about the radioactive Carbon-14 you inhale with every breath?

[@jdbarney]

Ah - love the Internet. There are always trolls.

[@danadurnfordkevinblanchdebunk]

@@jdbarney There is always around 3400 grams of naturally occurring tritium in the earth‘s atmosphere as it is constantly being produced by cosmic radiation interacting with the upper atmosphere. Most of those 3400 grams are in the earth‘s oceans. The water in Fukushima only contains 2-3 grams of tritium so releasing it all at once would have no measurable impact.

[@mahbriggs]

@@jdbarney I think you missed the point! There comes a point where fear of radiation is just irrational paranioa! There are several naturaly occuring elements that contain radioactive isotopes that we consume on a daily basis, such as Potassium and Carbon compounds. Tritium in the concentrations described is not a rational concern.

[@raycardy4843]

Watch Kyle Hill's videos on Fukushima - all active nuclear power plants around the world already release many times more 'tritiated water' every year than Fukushima will release over the decades of the decommissioning, and once diluted into the ocean the increase over the naturally occurring tritium in sea water will be negligible!

[@nickbraun2488]

Any chance you would do a video about using the Radicode102. Like a how to or setup guide?

[@tomas2810]

The perspective on relative amounts was good for people to hear. Regarding Hanford, they do tours of the B Reactor there which is very interesting.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I want to do a video about B Reactor.

[@ryanbrown8527]

Yes, at least one radium Exit sign was made - someone in one of my groups found it in an antique shop. It was a small one - about the size of the GMC-500+ it was photographed next to; no manufacturer's marks on it though.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I figured someone must have made one. In my quick search I didn't find any official record of one.