Radiation, is radioactive elements produced by radiation. There are three kinds of radiation ray: alpha rays (helium nuclei) (beam), beta rays, and gamma rays, high-energy photons). Is common in our daily life, the radiation of the radiation is the decay of radioactive elements and cosmic radiation from the atmosphere, in the nuclear power plant, the fission reaction will also release a neutron or other rays.

Nuclear radiation is not good. Because all sorts of radiation micro particles with energy than chemical bond energy is high, so may break the chemical bonds of molecules in the human body, causing the molecular nature of the change. But in most cases, the radiation is not so terrible, because individual molecules in cells are destroyed after loss of physiological activity, or the entire cell damage after death, will soon be absorbed by human body decomposition, reused, will not cause significant damage.

This kind of damage to organisms in food production to normal temperature sterilization: food after high intensity of radiation exposure can guarantee most of the bacteria are culling. And radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer (radiation) is another application of it, through the study of the high strength of cancerous parts of radiation treatment, make cancer cells (including normal cell) a large number of death, reach the purpose of inhibiting cancer.

In rare cases, the radiation damage may result in changes of the intracellular gene locus on a chromosome, it may happen in reproductive cells, may also be within the normal somatic cells. If this change can't repair and cells are still alive, they likely uncontrolled cell replication, the cancer cells.

So long time to accept higher intensity of radiation is the possibility of cancer. But in fact, we don't all the time by all kinds of radiation. And the radiation is very small, but you can't isolate, generally don't think it will cause harm to our body.

Our side is full of radiation

In the three rays, the decay of radioactive elements both alpha and beta rays inside the air transmission distance is short, as long as you don't close contact radioactive elements, they will not affect to the human body. And "radiation protection suits" and ordinary clothes for the body outside of these two types of radiation has certain protective effect.

In fact, in our drinking water, breathing air, contain small amounts of radioactive elements, such as air there is a certain amount of carbon 14 (beta decay into nitrogen 14), containing trace amounts of radon in groundwater and soil, and so on. So, we have a certain amount of radioactive elements in the body, bring us from inside to outside of radiation. In addition, the sky of high-energy cosmic radiation in the atmosphere will produce a large number of secondary radiation.

The so-called "radiation protection suits" does not prevent the radiation, it is impossible to completely isolate the radiation and unnecessary. This part of the people affected by the radiation generally called natural radiation or natural radiation (natural background radiation).

For the nuclear power plant, as well as the possibility of a nuclear accident, as long as the human body by the radiation of no more than a certain criteria, such as more than natural radiation, can be considered safe.

The following table lists some radiation associated with life data, the data can be used to measure the radiation damage of biological tissue (dose equivalent), unit is the Sv (Sievert, translation sepher or walter), Sv is equal to 1 joule per kilogram, form the relatively small unit inside, is actually a mSv (mSv, 1 millisievert = 1/000 sepher). Can be seen from the table, in addition to aerospace, mining industry, high radiation industry worker in the work of radiation is smaller than the natural radiation.

For fukushima leak, on March 12, monitoring to the larger data is about 1015 mu per hour Sv (micro sepher), namely 1.015 mSv (Monday, according to CNN, that number has fallen to 650 mu Sv). This is roughly:

Power station staff to accept a year of industry radiation.

About 50 times a chest X-ray radiation.

239 hours by plane to accept radiation.

Each half a year to accept the natural radiation.

According to the current situation, the plant did not appear in core meltdown and leak, only a small amount of radioactive leaks. And the plant itself is not like chernobyl has a design flaw, so the "wasteland" scene in the movie is not possible