Reactor waste (like fuel rods) takes thousands of years to decay but fallout from a nuclear blast can return to safe levels (for evacuation) in as little as three to five weeks. This mix up, and Hollywood, are probably the culprits for the spreading of the idea that nuclear fallout will destroy life for thousands of years – which is nonsense. Life would eventually return to a level of normalcy.Ī misunderstanding of half-life might also be contributing to the general confusion about radiation. After the initial incident those that stayed sheltered would be left to rebuild, just like those who survived the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The truth is that reactor accidents and blasts are survivable because radioactivity diminishes faster then we might think.
Even well-intentioned documentaries like Countdown to Zero tend to leave the viewer with a total sense of dread and hopelessness. So most folks just gave up on the topic assuming there was nothing we could do. The Cold War seemed to create a general misconception – that a nuclear incidents are not survivable. I’d hate to see us succumb to fear mongering and instead educate ourselves, prepare for the possibility, and work toward eliminating nuclear power and weapons. My hope is that nuclear preparedness becomes a topic we’re more comfortable talking about again. But now that we’ve all been reminded that nuclear accidents can happen, nobody is laughing anymore. Nuclear fallout shelters have been stigmatized as the ultimate prep for the paranoid and the butt of many jokes.
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