tokyoboy wrote:Isle of View wrote:The all-to-human inability to accurately assess relative risk combined with an appalling lack of basic numeracy.
People have no clue that they were exposed to more than an order of magnitude more radiation [due to cosmic rays] fleeing and flying back to Europe and the US than if they had spent the same time in Tokyo.
You are overlooking the most vital point regarding the radiation:
External exposure = temporary.
Internal contamination = long term (continual exposure).
So, yes, while those who take a flight or have an x-ray are externally exposed it is temporary. However those who inhale or consume contaminant isotopes (strontium, cesium, iodine, plutonium, americium, uranium, etc, etc) are subject to having their bodies internally bombarded by the disintegrations continuously thus doing far greater damage.
Protip. Lay off the plutonium
and the bananas and Brazil nuts while you're at it.