Radiation Chart (opens in new tab)

(xkcd.com)

85 pointsinaequitas15y ago7 comments

7 comments

"If you're basing radiation safety procedures on an internet PNG and things go wrong, you have no one to blame but yourself."

Japan's nuclear regulators were using a fuzzy JPG file when they licensed all those reactors in a tsunami zone. Chernobyl was designed with a GIF.

BoppreH15y ago

The EPA guidelines for emergencies are very interesting: doses linked with increased cancer risk are allowed during property and life saving.

Aside from this chart, what other resources are around xkcd.com that are not mentioned in the main page?

I feel like I'm losing big information here.

jeffcoat15y ago

This was posted today on the XKCD blag [sic], which is distinct from the comic feed.

http://blag.xkcd.com/

bigiain15y ago

I wonder what "clearly linked to increased cancer risk" actually means.

I don't have any idea whether that means it's more or less dangerous than, say, smoking.

mikecane15y ago

It should be noted that up to 4,000 microSieverts was measured near the plants. Measurements have been in the 3,000 mSV range. That's over the 2K mSV "severe radiation poisoning" level cited in the chart

miratrix15y ago

mSv stands for milli-Sievert, and uSv is micro-Sievert. 4000 uSv would be equivalent to 4 mSv, which is where Randall has it listed.

mikecane15y ago

Dammit. Thanks for the correction. I meant MICRO-Sievert.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

7 comments

WildUtah15y ago

"If you're basing radiation safety procedures on an internet PNG and things go wrong, you have no one to blame but yourself."

Japan's nuclear regulators were using a fuzzy JPG file when they licensed all those reactors in a tsunami zone. Chernobyl was designed with a GIF.

BoppreH15y ago

The EPA guidelines for emergencies are very interesting: doses linked with increased cancer risk are allowed during property and life saving.

Aside from this chart, what other resources are around xkcd.com that are not mentioned in the main page?

I feel like I'm losing big information here.

jeffcoat15y ago

This was posted today on the XKCD blag [sic], which is distinct from the comic feed.

http://blag.xkcd.com/

bigiain15y ago

I wonder what "clearly linked to increased cancer risk" actually means.

I don't have any idea whether that means it's more or less dangerous than, say, smoking.

mikecane15y ago

miratrix15y ago

mSv stands for milli-Sievert, and uSv is micro-Sievert. 4000 uSv would be equivalent to 4 mSv, which is where Randall has it listed.

mikecane15y ago

Dammit. Thanks for the correction. I meant MICRO-Sievert.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse