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April 5th, 2011
03:25 PM ET
CDC chief: Americans not at risk from radiationMinuscule amounts of radiation detected in the United States do not pose any risk to Americans' health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden reiterated Tuesday. "We do not expect radiation to reach problematic levels," he said on a conference call with reporters. Despite a low-level of concern, Frieden said, agencies such as the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were all actively monitoring the air, the food and the water supplies in the U.S. for any evidence of contamination. Dr. William Jones, acting director for the FDA's division of food safety, echoed Frieden's sentiments. "There is a great deal of monitoring going on for any product that comes into this country," said Jones. "Anything contaminated to level where it could pose a concern would be detected." Also at issue on Tuesday's call: Whether Americans should be taking or stockpiling potassium iodide pills. "I understand that there are a lot of people who want to have [the pills]," Frieden said, "But I want to say unequivocally that there is no reason for anyone in the U.S. to take potassium iodide pills at this time." Potassium iodide pills (also known as KI pills) can be helpful for people in the immediate vicinity of a nuclear accident, by preventing the thyroid gland from taking in radioactive iodine. However, KI pills only protect the thyroid and are not recommended for wider consumption, Frieden said, due to the inherent health risks associated with taking the pills, such as allergic reactions, stomach upset, inflammation of the salivary glands and certain thyroid conditions. "Potassium iodide is part of the broader strategy on how we would prepare for exposure in the event of significant incident," he said, "but we don't anticipate any scenario where we would need potassium iodide in the U.S. from the incident in Japan." Frieden and his colleagues at the FDA went on to say that there are no devices or pills that can protect the entire body from radiation, despite claims made by some online retailers. "There is nothing that is currently approved as a silver bullet," said Patricia Hansen, a senior scientist at the FDA. "Those claims are fraudulent."
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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DC2003, a Government shut down does not mean every agency or every employee will simply shut down or stay home. All agencys/employees who's job it is to keep the US safe will go on working as normal.
No it just means that military personel won't get paid and it looks like we just started another war. I guess we got the 130 million dollars to launch this 3rd war from the paychecks of the people we are sending to fight it for us. I'm so glad that slavery doesn't exist in the U.S.
does this mean BlackWater will keep getting paid. you know Blackwater is the outsourced army that bush created
One might be more likely to believe this statement if the CDC were more a medical and scientific organization and less a political one!
The DOCTORS and SCIENTISTS who work there would beg to differ. Perhaps you have some evidence for your claim?
Hey pfr1nk, the scientists at NIST think a 47 story tall building can collapse at free fall speed due to fires alone. Ridiculous! Won't release the computer models either. Obviously the scientists who work for the government are more interested in a pay check than science. This country is seriously FOO-BAR.
Oh, you're one of those guys... Ugh.
I mean, Geoff.
Anyone who spells Jeff that way is of suspect intelligence to begin with.
Hey guys,
Care to explain how building 7 fell? Oh did you know a 3rd building fell? Would you like to explain why 3 Israelis were seen video taping the event? How about the 50 or so Israeli citizens that were rounded up following the event (mainstream news)? Can you explain Able Danger to us please? Since you guys know it all....
How about the xmas day bomber and how he was allowed to get on that plane to Detriot by our state dept. You knew that right? You read the congressional testimony admitting it, right (which is easily found with a simple internet search. hint: start with wiki)? I'm just asking.
Because you guys know what Operation Northwoods is, right?
I guess the CDC figured out what causes cancer. Second hand smoke 100% guaranteed to give cancer radiation 100% guarnateed to be healthy.
This group is all over the road!
it does not really matter the CDC will be gone the way of all the other gov programs once the tea bags twist the arms of the Republicans enough
Radiation, in any amount, is a "risk" per definition of the word. One could claim the risks are negligable, or not significant, but to say it is not a risk is simply silly.
You get more radiation form eating a banana that you will from the Daiichi Plant.
You'll get more radiation from breathing air. You'll get hundreds of times more from the sun.
What they said. It's like saying that Sunlight is a risk, and any amount of it is dangerous. While you might be correct, anyone who tries to completely remove it from their life is both foolish, ignorant, and doomed to failure. To give up radiation is to give up life; you'll find rocks just lying on the ground with small amounts of thorium in them, and if you were using a geiger counter at home you'd probably run scared.
Radiation helped drive the mutations in our evolution. It's not a poison, but too much of it Can hurt you. Learn what is and isn't too much and you'll see that the idea that our coast will be affected is nothing but nonsense, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to exploit that ignorance.
Actually, there is a significant body of evidence that a small amount of radiation is good for you. It is called hormesis. Regulatory agencies ignore it and so it is not accounted for in safety standards and you won't be taught it in your radiation safety class at work, but the evidence is there. (google Bernie Cohen).
As Alec said, we wouldn't exist today if we weren't constantly bathed in radiation throughout our development as a species. When the radiation dose is a fraction of normal background, there is no way to make a case that it is a significant exposure.
Here is how radiation harms an animal:
It causes changes to DNA inside cells. Not all cells, just some. This DNA could potentially cause proteins to be built incorrectly, leading to problems with those cells. If the cells live and multiply out of control, it's cancer. HOWEVER, our DNA has multiple layers of redundancy and error correction built in. These cells will usually either be able to build proteins normally because the DNA uses one of its redundant parts to make the proteins, or the cells will simply die, being attacked by the body's immune system. It is only when an animal receives enough radiation to enough cells that the error correction and redundancy systems built into DNA fail.
science please, no one know what causes cancer. we know too much sun does, what experiments are there about eating radiation. You bannana guy, are u a scientist? or just make stuff up.
Depends on the element of radiation your referring to. For those trying to use medical facilities or bananas in comparison your not taking into account the main problem and that is the plutonium. You don't get that from x-rays, sun or bananas. It is a waste of Uranium itself.
and monkeys are flying out of my butt right now.
well how bout sniffin on that ape's SPHINCTER!!!
I am soooo sick of politics......... I absolutely think it is a joke....... and now we are right back into a year and half of wasting money and time. We get to listen to more lies, unkept promises. Politicians are croooooks, the only way we are going to get change is to replace all of them at the same time, but they have managed to break that possibility up to keep the money grab going.
again with all this WHO CARES we are all gonna die sooner or later so quit complaning about it and live life!!! and enjoy it while we are here
That's why every morning I cross a busy street with my eyes closed. If it's my time, it's my time; if it ain't it ain't.
Dig deeper. UC Berkeley recently tested rainwater on campus and it was found to be 181 times over the legal limit. That's minuscule? CNN has not reported this but you can go to the university's website and confirm! Write to CNN and ask why this is not being reported on.
Read their paper dude! http://arxiv.org/abs/1103.5954
Even in the abstract they say "The activity levels we have measured for these isotopes are very low and pose no health risk to the public. "
rere - Don't bother. Unfortunately most people reacting to this situation have no use for facts.
They say on their website to not focus on the radiation in rainwater but instead on the tapwater reading which is lower. Berk gets it's tapwater from the sierras, a snowpack. What about measuring reservoirs like in marin. That rainwater had to go somewhere.
Oh and your one paragraph link means nothing. Go here to see actual measurements of radiation in our milk, tap, creek and rainwater. Then get back to me in why this is not on CNN.
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling
According to UCB, the highest level of radiation they detected was I-131 on 3-23. Even then, they say that a person would need to drink 134 liters of that rainwater in order to get a dose of radiation equivalent to one round trip flight across the US.
CDC: Firmly in the pockets of the nuclear industry. Just like how the FDA acts according to the wishes of big pharma. Science in America has become a branch of the corporate state... ie severely compromised.
You can certainly do your own science... You know about the scientific process, right? You say what you believe (based on real data) and other people criticize it. If you can't support your statements with data, you are going to get singed.
OOOOHHHH! The radiation is coming to get u in the United Sports....it is going to jump up and bite ur silly AZZES if u can't get a grip on ur ignorant lives!!!! Always wishing to get ur share...well, u going to git ur fair share of RADS too my friends...the radiation is coming fer UUU!
you must be a foreigner that's living off the U.S. Great job!
you are so cute
What a bunch of lying dirtbags!
There are SIX reactors all in various stages of total meltdown & these bozos (sorry Bozo) are trying to tell US there's nothing to be concerned about!!!
You may think Americans are stupid but we're not all dumb!
well I say about 99% of them are FILFTHY ignorant!
With alarmist sheep like you, it's a wonder anyone thinks we even have schools.
II can't even respond here... you have been lied to. You clearly don't know what a 'meltdown' really entails, how the plants are built, how radiation moves and exists in our world, or how to separate false fear-mongering from actual fact. Just, please, I beg of you, learn something before you continue. If you can't see why these plants are different from Chernobyl then all you are aware of is that 6 > 1.
You don't know what containment is, what a meltdown means, and why Chernobyl was an unequaled disaster. I could also say that "Oh, everyone's glad they caught that murderer who killed 10 people, but those sheep don't even realize that the government is trying to cover up the 100 people that are having psychopathic breakdowns in mental wards RIGHT NOW!!!" but this wouldn't be informative or honest; just scary.
Please, if you don't Know the facts then you aren't making an educated point, you're just repeating what some sensationalist opinion piece has told you is happening.
Wasted breath, bud. If someone wants to think they are being lied to, then they will. Most posters in here clearly have no understanding of what radioation even is. They have been fed cold-war and peacenik propaganda their entire lives. It vastly outweighs what they would have picked up in school if they never took physics, chemistry, and biology, or read anything about Chernobyl or Trinity, or Bikini, or WWII. Just lable them idiots and move on.
They can say all they want to keep the anxiety down, but let's face the truth. There was a major contamination that will eventually affect the entire world one way or another. For them to keep minimalizing what has happened is ignorant and dangerous in the long run.
What a misquote. CDC chief: Americans not at risk from radiation "We do not expect radiation to reach problematic levels,"
way to go cnn
--
CDC chief: Americans not at risk from radiation
Minuscule amounts of radiation detected in the United States do not pose any risk to Americans' health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden reiterated Tuesday.
"We do not expect radiation to reach problematic levels," he said on a conference call with reporters.
Are you aware that we live with a great deal of natural yet identical radiation all around us for our entire lives? Thus if we receive Large amounts of radiation from this then this is problematic. If the extra amount we receive only amounts to an extra 0.01%, then yes, it counts as miniscule, and no it will not be problematic or have any effect whatsoever. That's what they are saying here.
Don't forget to mention the dozens and dozens of above ground nuclear tests from the 50s and 60s that released way more radioactive material into the atmosphere. Guess what, no spike in cancer (except that caused by sunbathing and smoking) over the last 100 years. Not to minimize radiation risk, but the one's who really have to worry are those in the immediate vicinity of the plant.
I'll sleep much better now, thank you.
While I thoroughly agree that the radiation levels are not known to be exceptionally hazardous at this time, the fact is that Cs 137 has been found in the U.S. and that radiation CONTINUES to leak from the damaged reactors. That means that Cs will continue to build up levels here until the airborn leaks are stopped. Cs137 has a half-life of 30 years. It's going to be around a long time. But at least it's not Pu239 or U235 or U238. What will be the levels in another month, another 6 months if the leaks continue?
Yes, but the radiation this is generating here is identical, yet infinitely smaller than, the natural radiation we absorb every day. Just the fact that some of it exists here by no means implies that we are at any increased risk. This is measurable, and it is constantly being measured. The nuclear industry here hasn't been able to build any new, even safer, plants for decades, and if you think they have the power to significantly cover up accurate results then you are mistaken.
Radiation is not good for you period.
Neither was the air quality after the WTC fell down.
But they told you it was safe as well and now look at the high cancer rates in downtown Manhattan.
Dont listen to the lies these ppl are telling you.
"Ron' we live in a world where you receive huge doses of IDENTICAL radiation every day you live from natural, sun and earth, sources. If you want to call it poison then that's fine, but we have all been poisoned for every day since life began. An extra tenth of a percent absorbed from a far away nuclear accident is less dangerous radiation-wise than going out for a day and taking a walk in the park, absorbing that extra sunlight.
Not a supportable statement. Some radiation may indeed be good for you. Google Bernie Cohen. He has shown that a small amount is good for you.
'The Air is Safe to Breath' -EPA
'The Fish are Safe to Eat' -DP (Formerly BP)
'Plutonium helps babies grow STRONG!' -CDC
i just saw this same report on my local news the state the cdc was testing was Minnesota...ummm, why are the scientists wearing masks if it isn't dangerous...i'm just saying....
Why has CNN not reported the hard facts on recent testing done at Berkeley? Rainwater is 181 times over the legal limit for tapwater but "that's ok, you don't drink rainwater". So reservoirs across America are all covered from rain? http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling
Dig deeper!
@Truthtime: First you claim that some UC Berkeley testing reveils 180x 'legal' limits in rainwater. Then the replies debunkl your claim by qoting the same website you gave. 3 hours later you peddle your same original claim. Upon checking the website you posted, it specifically states why the 180x level is misleading and that there are no elevated levels in the drinking water. Some people wil peddle misleading info no matter how oten they are disproven.
20bcq/l is 180x greater than .11 bcq/l which is the limit for tapwater. The argument they make is that tapwater isn't rainwater. I submit to you the possibility that this very rainwater may in fact....be ingested at some point! Look, I'm not saying it's at a level that is HIGHLY dangerous, but to dismiss it outright in the mainstream press is crazy. Finally, the tapwater they are measuring cones from snowpack. Why is the gov not measuring reservoirs? Why are universities the only ones providing data?
Just in time for the strawberry harvest in California, the leafy little fruit can suck up a lot of radioactive particles. What about all the pens and other utensils made there, along with cars, has anyone of the North American Countries even thought about protecting the public from the possibility of radio active contamination in those areas of concern?
Does anyone think that if there were going to be a problem with radiation along the west coast the government would actually say anything? Of course not. Where would everyone go? In 20 years when the results are clear and the health problems are "mysteriously" popping up all over it will be a boom for the healthcare industry. Capitalism. Might as well face it or move somewhere where the government actually cares about the health of the population instead of seeing it as a way to make money.
Why would the government be able to 'hush' this up? These measurements can and have been performed by any facility with accurate readers. They have to be quite sensitive though, to make out any difference between any possible elevation and the natural background radiation everyone on earth receives every day.
Why dont we shut down the govt and keep it shut down. Its not like they can protect from dishonest bankers/brokers, run social security with out robbing it, win a war after 8 years against a few bearded religious fanantics, keep from spending more money than they take in, show enough disipline to turn off the money printing press which is causing prices to soar robbing us all of our hard earned savings etc etc etc etc. Seems like the hard working citizens of this country would be much better off without such a bloated wasteful govt and the do nothing employees and politicans that run it. Isnt it time for a second revolution in America? Time to put those responsible for the financial crisis in jail? Time to explain to the US military mindless taxpayors arent the neccesarry evil, its the military that is the unnecessary evil that needs to be put back into its cage? Or are we going to let the govt drive us into starvation before we act? A Wise and Frugal govt, which shall leave men free to regulate there own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labour the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good govt. Thomas Jefferson
oh ok cdc thankyou for letting us know, i feel better now
Why aren't you printing my comment, CNN? There's nothing profane or vulgar about it in any way, shape or form. You're just being a jerk.
They didn't prinit mine either, and it was very bland..... Makes you wonder.....
And the air quality in manhattan after 911 was perfect for breathing.
I was thinking of the same thing.
one thought comes to mind. we would never have had to worry about something like this if it weren't for weapons of mass destruction. it should never have to come down to this.
This article has no real explanations, or offers factual numbers and content analysis. It is simply an article that says, EVERYTHING IS FINE, the message the media loves to bring to us to calm any possible fears. Just last night CNN made an alarming report that United States officials warns that the cooling efforts are not only not really working, but building up serious problems that will more then likely come to pass(mounting pressure that will cause explosions, and unforeseen possibilities), but they quickly got rid of the message probably figuring that UH-OH we are telling the TRUTH, gotta go back to lying and calming fears. The radioactive leak that is now "plugged"(it is not really plugged, they showed a picture that the fountain of water is greatly reduced but still pouring), is now over and so we should all breathe easy now. This is a merely a superficial problem of the underlying causes which remain inside the containment vessels(which cnn won't CONFIRM are breached, they have said several times that it MAY be, and it is UNCONFIRMED). Meanwhile just wait and see the consequences that will arrive because of all the unbelievably Radioactive crap we just poured in our oceans!
No numbers, no facts. Just reassurance.
The radiation will turn night into day, cats into dogs, and flip your body inside out.
True story.
It's too bad we can't run a little experiment where an article is posted that states the "CDC states there is a high probability of radioactive contamination of USA water supply" or something similar and see if all of those who knee-jerk into disbelieving what the CDC says now, would suddenly jump on board with this [hypothetical] CDC statement. If this boils down to faith based science what is the purpose of reporting anything, or more precisely, what is the purpose of reading any of the statements? You already believe what you want to believe...
Yes and they told us H1N1 was no big deal when HUNDREDS of previously healthy people ended up on ECMO. They have biased interests. Ie the economy.
Hundreds.... out of 300+ million.
The 'regular' seasonal flu kills many more people in the United States than that blasted swine flu ever did.
Wow, the tinfoil hat brigade is out in force with this one. Honestly surprised to not see a mention of a UN conspiracy.
I should mention that I would have mentioned the UN involvement had I not been under the watchful eye, if you know what I mean. But I've said too much. Hey, let's have a tinfoil hat burning party... oh wait.
BULL-SH^T !! I SMELL BULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSH^T !!!!
I see all the gloom and doom people are all out as usual
Do you really think they would tell you even there was ...Not a Chance!
Some one need's to stop HAARP.....Obama wont he want's to ruin america. So he can be the next HITLER...
if we have no silver bullet, why are we still using it? and not only are we using it, but as its proliferation spreads, we are no longer investing in alternative methods as we should, but relying on nuclear sources as our primal energy supplier. is it worth risking the future lives of your children and grandchildren just to make corporations rich using the most expensive and only lethal way possible to turn on a light bulb?
Oh great, just what the world needs...more glowing personalities. Seriously though, what's a little radiation among friends. I mean, shouldn't we be concentrating on fixing the problem instead of pointing fingers? Let's just put a big ol cap over the reactors and pump mud and cement into them until they stop leaking that pesky radiation. Then, Rush Limbaugh says, the oil spill... I mean radiation will just dissapate into the massive ocean without a trace. No worries about residual effect or 30 mile oil, I mean radiation plumes. I really think we should call in Haliburton.
I hear there are sales now going on for the new Toyota PU239, the Suzuki Cs137, the Nissan I 131, and the Honda Glow. Cheap.
Like they would say we're all going to die from this. What purpose would it serve?
(posted to pikk) Believe or Doubt? CDC chief: Americans not at risk from radiation [POLL] – http://www.pikk.com/0f496
If you think all of us are blindly trusting the CDC your out of your mind. They are another department of a massively corrupt and bloated govt. What better way to quell the fears then have the CDC announce this stuff. The last thing I'll do is fully 100% trust the US GOVT.