The extent of the challenges facing Japan and surrounding countries due to radiation contamination is yet to be finalized, but reason should prevail over undue fear.  Radiation is energy, and radioactive sources are all around us and where ever you live, there is a measurable background level of radiation.

Alpha, beta and gamma are all common forms of radiation energy, alpha particles being unable to penetrate intact skin, to gamma passing right through the body, beta being between the two.  Radiation energy comes from the source and by itself is limited in distance it can travel.  The current concern with contamination of radioactive fallout from Japan affecting other countries is dependent upon those radioactive particles hitching a ride on dust or debris from the site.

While radiation levels may still be high close to the source of the reactors, distance is a tremendous protective barrier and the levels of radiation will drop of rapidly.  If additional dust or debris moves through the rubble, some additional contaminated fallout could occur, but I suspect without further explosions or breaches of containment structures, we should not see new large releases of contaminated dusts.

We have great equipment to find radiation and Japan and the world will no doubt deploy countless detection and monitoring teams, but don’t panic just because they find “radiation”.  You have to be doses by an amount deemed harmful to hurt you, and if we lived to be 1,000 years old, the background levels we live with might be harmful. Keep this in perspective, it is a tragedy, and close to the site, like the citizens within the fallout of Chernobyl, there are long term challenges.  If you are elsewhere in the world, calm down; go back to smoking your cigarettes, lying in the sun outside or hit the tanning beds and recognize you are probably intentionally exposing yourself to higher radiation levels than will ever affect you from Japan.