In Fukushima, Japan radiation levels have been read at 300 times the normal level, and has also

been found in Tokyo, Japan. Its rumored that officials are expecting to have to ask US military for help with this critical situation. Thousands of people are being exposed to radiation, and are being told to cover their mouths with wet clothes to try to reduce inhalation of radiation, and to stay inside. Still, these preventative measures may not be enough, especially if the levels keep increasing. Children and unborn babies are at an exponentially higher risk of radiation effects than the Japanese adults. Radiation has the ability to cause different types of cancers, to include thyroid cancer, bone cancer, and leukemia, and can be long and excruciating. Radiation exposure can occur in several different ways. One way is air born where the dust-like particles fall onto the epidermis, or it can be ingested through the nose or mouth. Also, radiation can contaminate food and water, exposing a person through food consumption. Radiation causes DNA mutations, which in turn causes the illnesses and cancers to an individual. If genes are mutated from exposure, mutated DNA can be passed on from parent to future children. According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), radiation is something that is naturally around us to begin with. Radiation is naturally produced from space (cosmic), and through the earth (terrestrial).Half of the radiation present in America is from natural resources, leaving the other half produced by man, and 1% of that from industries, while 36% of man-made radiation is used as medical treatments. The biological effects of radiation on living cells will have one of three plausible outcomes: (1.) Injured or damaged cells repair themselves, resulting in no residual damage. (2) Cells die, much like millions of body cells do every day, being replaced through normal biological processes. (3) Cells incorrectly repair themselves resulting in a biophysical change. The Biological Effects of Nuclear Radiation High doses of more than 100 gray affect the central nervous system, resulting in loss of coordination (including breathing problems), with death occurring within 1 or 2 days. Doses from 9 to 100 grays damage the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Progressive dehydration can result in death within several weeks. Lower doses (from 3 to 9 grays) damage the bone marrow and other haematopoietic tissues. This can lead to loss of appetite and hair, hemorrhaging, inflammation, and secondary infections such as pneumonia. These effects are also found in patients undergoing radiation therapy. Doses of less than 3 grays are rarely lethal, but cause symptoms that include loss of appetite and hair, hemorrhaging, and diarrhea. Long-term risks of radiation exposure center on the incidence of cancer and genetic mutations. Both effects have proven difficult to determine since cigarette smoking, diet, and sunlight exposure are also known to cause cancer and possibly to promote genetic mutations. Analysis of approximately 100,000 survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shows a slight increase in genetic mutations over what would be expected for a normal population, but this increase is so small that it may not be statistically significant. Hiroshima survivors who received more than 2 gray showed a slight increase in the instances of cancer over a normal population. There is a good deal of controversy over the contribution of natural background radiation and man-made radiation to the incidence of cancer in humans. The dosage threshold below which radiation has no effect is also controversial. Background radiation comes from three sources: cosmic rays, naturally occurring radioactive elements such as radon-222, and solar radiation. The amount of exposure to this natural radiation depends on a number of factors, such as geographic location, house construction materials, medical treatments, and occupation. The average exposure for a U.S. resident is 0.36 rem per year.

The explosion and fire at the Japanese Nuclear Plant in NorthEast of Japan has led to the release of a small nuclear plume above the reactors.The southern winds have caused this radiation to spread in many of the prefectures in Japan and cesium and other radioactivity has been detected in the capital of Tokyo.Note Radiation does not affect the human body in small doses as radiation is present in our everyday lives at well.However the increase in radiation concentration can lead to severe health hazards and in extreme cases even death.It is almost impossible to escape radiation effects unless one has special nuclear,biological warfare protective equipment.Note Radiation in Japan is still at quite mild levels and seems unlikely to cause any major health hazard.Radiation will need to increase about 1000 times from the current level for the situation to become serious as of nowRadiation Levels and Effect on Human Health at Different Levels Radioactivity is measured in rads where a rad is a hundredth of a joule per kilogram of tissue. A gray, a hundred times this value.By multiplying the intensity by two variables, Q and N, a more accurate damage done unit is derived, the sievert(Sv), which is a hundred times the rem. In radiation exposures ranging from about one sievert to two sieverts, permanent effects, or mild radiation poisoning, begin. A feeling of general illness persists for a week or two.t six sieverts, the death rate is 90%, which increases quickly to 100%. The primary causes of death are internal bleeding or immune system failure that rapidly gives way to lethal infection. Hair is lost, people are rendered sterile, bone marrow is destroyed, and recovery can take years and may never be complete.