Re:If I ingest a grain of sand size piece of the Chernobyl R...
by godelski on Sunday June 02, 2019 @08:11PM
(#20079359)
I think part of it is that a lot of people just don't know the history or the uses of radiation.
For example the history we wanted to find when other nations were testing weapons. We didn't have satellites (or many) so we had to detect from beyond borders. But radiation doesn't travel very far. Solution? REALLY REALLY sensitive detectors.
Most people also don't know uses for radiation outside cancer therapy. I'd bet you most people don't understand that a PET, CAT, or CT scan is radiation. Let alone that we irradiate food to make it safer. I doubt people know how regulated anything dealing with radiation is, or how many factors of safety are added.
For example the history we wanted to find when other nations were testing weapons. We didn't have satellites (or many) so we had to detect from beyond borders. But radiation doesn't travel very far. Solution? REALLY REALLY sensitive detectors.
Most people also don't know uses for radiation outside cancer therapy. I'd bet you most people don't understand that a PET, CAT, or CT scan is radiation. Let alone that we irradiate food to make it safer. I doubt people know how regulated anything dealing with radiation is, or how many factors of safety are added.