Part 1 of 2 Parts
       On March 11, 2011, an earthquake off the Japanese coast caused a tidal wave that led to flooding of a nuclear power plant on the coast of the Fukushima Prefect. Three of the reactors melted down and one of those exploded which destroyed a fourth reactor. A huge plume of dirt, debris, and smoke containing radioactive materials was spewed into the air above the site and spread over that part of Japan. What was not known until 2013 was that the material in the radioactive plume released by the explosions also contained glass beads the size of bacteria that contained high levels of radioactive cesium.
       These radioactive beads have been found in soil and air samples all over the zone contaminated by the disaster. The beads are of special concern because they contain much higher levels of radioactive cesium than the other particles in the radioactive plume. Because they are tiny, they are easily inhaled deep into the lungs. Because they have a glass shell, they tend not to dissolve in body fluids. This means that they could continue to damage body tissues for a long time if inhaled.
       In addition to posing a major health threat, these particles are also of scientific interest because a close examination of them can shed light on exactly what happened when the reactors exploded. This may be of use in deciding exactly how to proceed with the clean up of the Fukushima site.
      Following the accident, it was first thought that all of the radioactive cesium released in the disaster would be a form that could dissolve in water so it would be distributed pretty evenly throughout the environment contaminated by the disaster. When the scientists examined the contamination, they found radioactive hotspots that contained high levels of cesium as well as bits of iron and zinc. These hotspots were enclosed in a shell of silica or glass. Within a few miles of the nuclear power plant, the beads also contained tiny pieces of uranium dioxide nuclear fuel from the reactor cores.
      The cesium beads were produced early in the meltdown following the flooding. The reactor cooling systems were damaged by the tsunami which resulted in the fuel heating up. As the temperature rose, the metal cladding covering the fuel rods began to break down and release hydrogen gas. Apparently, a spark triggered an explosion in the accumulating hydrogen gas. The glass beads contain a physical record of the sequence of chemical reactions that took place as a result of the disaster. This helps scientists form a timeline of damage and may help them devise a better strategy for cleaning up the damaged reactors.
      The composition of the beads indicates that cesium and other fission products were vaporized during the meltdown of the cores and ultimate condensed like rain drops. The condensing clusters of fission products attracted bits of iron dioxide and zinc dioxide that had been created by the corrosion and disintegration of the cladding on the fuel rods. Some of the silica in the concrete of the plant buildings vaporized into silicon dioxide which condensed around the clusters of fission products, iron and zinc.
Please read Part 2

Ambient office  =  97 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Carrot from Central Market = 122 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 66 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 52 nanosieverts per hour

        The Chinese are pursuing a number of different alternative energy sources and nuclear power designs to permit the elimination of coal fired power plants which are causing terrible pollution in many cities in China. They have been very aggressive in planning and constructing nuclear fission reactors. They have also been making great progress in the development and production of solar power systems.
        In addition to energy production systems that are refinements of existing systems, the Chinese are also working on the development of nuclear fusion for power generation. Nuclear fusion, if possible, could be much cheaper, safer and produce much less dangerous waste than nuclear fission reactors.
       One of the main approached to nuclear fusion has been the tokamak design. A donut shaped chamber surrounded by powerful magnets is used to confine and heat a plasma of light elements such as hydrogen to pressures and temperatures found in the heart of the sun. Under the right conditions, it should be possible to fuse lighter elements into heavier elements with the release of substantial harvestable energy. Tokamak research has been going on since the first one was constructed in 1955. Today, there are tokamak research projects going on around the world including a huge international project in France referred to as ITER.
       China has been operating their Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor in Hefei since construction was completed in March of 2006 and it has been in operation ever since. It is referred to in China as HT-7U and is the first tokamak in the world to employ toroidal and poloidal magnets. It has been estimated that it was built at a cost about five percent of what the cost of construction would have been in another technologically advanced country.
       The HT-7U passed an important plasma containment milestone last November. It is hoped that reaching this milestone will allow the speedy completion of an even more advanced tokamak called the HL-2M which Chinese scientists hope could even be built this year.
        China has been able to use the HT-7U reactor to create temperatures of over one hundred million degrees on the Celsius scale. This temperature is hotter than the interior of the sun. Chinese scientists were able to maintain this temperature in the HT-7U reactor for sixty seconds but they need to able to sustain it for a thousand seconds or longer. If the researchers are able to sustain this high temperature in the HT-7U reactor for a sufficient period of time, they believe that they will be able to finalize the design of the HL-2M Tokamak and proceed with its construction.

       Duan Xuru is an official at the China National Nuclear Corporation. He believes that it will be possible to build the HL-2M this year. He told the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference that “The artificial sun’s plasma is mainly composed of electrons and ions and the country’s existing Tokamak devices have achieved an electron temperature of over 100 million degrees C in its core plasma, and an ion temperature of 50 million C, and it is the ion that generates energy in the device.”

Ambient office  =  61 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 121 nanosieverts per hour

Blueberry from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 84 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 77 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office  =  67 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Crimini mushroom from Central Market = 86 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 66 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 53 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office  =  78 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Avocado from Central Market = 47 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 66 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 59 nanosieverts per hour

Dover sole – Caught in USA = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Part 3 of 3 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
       The NCRPM meta-study involved dozens of experts from academia, government and the nuclear industry. Twenty-nine contemporary scientific studies on the effects of low-dose radiation were analyzed. The conclusion of the meta-study reaffirmed that even low dose of radiation should be avoided if possible. While the correlation between excessive radiation exposure and many types of cancer is clear, evidence of danger from low-dose exposure is not as clear but is still present. Some studies have shown that people subjected to repeated X-rays have a linear cancer risk related to the number of X-rays.
       The meta-study concluded that there was no conclusive evidence that could refute the linear no-threshold model of radiation danger that has been the orthodox opinion for decades. The NRC will include the meta-study in their deliberations on the relaxation of radiation dose standards.
        Unfortunately, the meta-study conclusions did not end the radiation dose danger debate because the relaxation of regulations is major goal of the Trump administration. If the NRC, dominated by Republicans, does relax radiation dose standards, this would please many in the Trump administration and many among the Republican in Congress. The relaxation of radiation dose standards has been making some progress beyond the debate at the NRC.
       Last fall, the House Republicans held a hearing on the EPA proposal to reduce radiation standards which would save the nuclear industry billions of dollars. One of the supporters of radiation hormesis at the hearing was Edward Calabrese who is a professor of toxicology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has a long association with industries trying to ease government regulation. He runs a center funded by R.J. Reynolds, Dow-Corning, ExxonMobil and utility companies. He is also the founder of the Dose Response journal mentioned above.
       When Scott Pruitt left the EPA under a cloud of corruption charges, the proposal to change the radiation standards was shelved but it will likely be reconsidered in 2020. Another bill aimed at relaxing radiation exposure standards was passed by the House of Representatives in 2017. A companion bill was also introduced in the Senate but the fact that the House is now in control of the Democrats suggests that these bills will have a tough time making it to the president’s desk.
       Janet McCabe is an environmental lawyer who was the head of the division of the EPA responsible for radiation and air pollution protection under the Obama administration. She compares the supporters of radiation hormesis with climate deniers who work for corporations which would profit enormously from changes in government regulation. She said that she was not surprised that a fringe idea like radiation hormesis was fining traction with the Trump administration.
       A major problem with assessing cancer risk from radiation exposure is the fact that it can take decades for the effects of radiation to show up in a human body. With all the other modern factors that can cause cancer, it can be difficult to pin down the cause of any particular cancer. It is worth noting that if the proponents of radiation hormesis are wrong, it could take decades for their mistake to show up in the damaged health of recipients of low dose of radiation. With respect to dangers of radiation exposure, it is best to err on the side of caution.