Dr. Abram Petkau

Lately there has been a lot of talk about the radiation from the Fukushima meltdown in the atmosphere. Radiation has been officially detected in rain water and in our air from many areas in the USA, Europe and elsewhere. Each time one of these findings is reported, we are told that it is far below danger levels and that it is harmless and we have nothing to be concerned about.

Is this true? Can we believe what we are being told? Is it truly harmless?

Back in 1972 Dr. Abram Petkau conducted some tests trying to see how much radiation it would take to damage cell walls. He discovered that 3500 rads in 2¼ hours would destroy a cell membrane. Then he decided to see what effect low doses of radiation over long periods of time would have on the membrane.

His discovery was frightening.

He found that low doses over long periods was much more damaging than larger amounts in a shorter time.

With this data, can we be so sure the radiation spewing from Fukushima isn't having a more toxic effect on us than what our media and "officials" are telling us?

From Wikipedia:

The Petkau effect is an early counterexample to linear-effect assumptions usually made about radiation exposure. It was found by Dr. Abram Petkau at the Atomic Energy of Canada Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, Manitoba and published in Health Physics March 1972.

Petkau had been measuring, in the usual way, the dose that would rupture a particular cell membrane. He found that 3500 rads delivered in 2¼ hours (26 rad/min) would do it. Then, almost by chance, he tried again with much weaker radiation and found that 0.7 rads delivered in 11½ hours (1 millirad/min) would also destroy the membrane. This was counter to the prevailing assumption of a linear relationship between total dose or dose rate and the consequences.

The radiation was of ionising nature, and produced negative oxygen ions. Those ions were more damaging to the membrane in lower concentrations than higher (a somewhat counterintuitive result in itself) because in the latter, they more readily recombine with each other instead of interfering with the membrane. The ion concentration directly correlated with the radiation dose rate and the composition had nonmonotonic consequences.

Suggested Reading
Radiation Dosage Chart http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/radiation-dosage-chart/

Below are two books dealing with this subject