UPDATE (March 17): Josef Oehmen's original post (linked below) has been removed by Jason Morgan, apparently at the author's request. The post has been edited significantly and republished at the Nuclear Science and Engineering Blog at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Oehmen's original post reflected the situation at the time – when only one of the Fukushima reactors was experiencing problems. His comments about the potential release of radioactivity have been removed in the revised post. Jason Morgan's original post now conveys a message from Dr. Oehmen directing readers to the MIT blog: The version on mitnse.com is the most accurate, and as you can tell in many parts different to the version that appeared here on Jason’s blog. This post is not keeping track of or explaining events after Mar 12. Events kept developing, and many people keep sharing their discovery with me that one is always smarter after the fact. Science bloggers at nature.com's The Great Beyond continue to monitor the situation very closely, including Geoff Brumfiel, who has provided periodic updates on radiation levels both near the damaged reactor and at various distances from it. His March 17 post includes the following: NHK also reports elevated radiation levels around Fukushima prefecture. At Fukushima City, 65 km northwest of the plant and well outside the evacuation zone, authorities reported levels as high as 13.9 μSv/hr (0.0139 mSv/hr), according to the broadcaster. That is well above the background, and equivalent to 120 mSv/yr in rough terms, but it will only pose a threat to human health if it continues for a long period of time (see this post for more about the numbers). There has unquestionably been a high demand for quick and accurate information – both about specific radiation levels and how to put those levels in their appropriate context. On March 16, Brumfiel tried to assess what the levels of radiation meant for the public: NHK television was reporting .08 mSv/hr at 25 kilometres west-northwest of the site today. A back-of-the-envelope calculations makes that 700 mSv per year (simply: .08 mSv x 24 hours x 365 days).That is a serious dose, but not as bad as it initially sounds. For one thing, the radiation coming from Fukushima seems to be sporadic, so it won't stay at .08 mSv/hr for a long time. Additionally, you would only see the effects of that radiation if you were standing outside for a whole year. More realistically, people will take cover to the greatest degree possible, reducing their exposure considerably. On top of that, iodine tablets and simple precautions for those outside (such as covering up, and removing clothing when moving indoors) will help a great deal. In this context .08 mSv/hr probably isn't much to worry about, though it may become an issue for rescue workers outside for long periods. As I mentioned, in Tokyo, Japan's science ministry reported average rates of .000144 mSv/hr yesterday afternoon. That's double the background rate, but should residents of the capital be worried? No. [original post begins below.] The horror of Friday 11 March's earthquake and resulting tsunami near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, soon gave way to widespread panic as explosions rocked the Fukushima nuclear power plant. However, one community in the blogosphere seemed to be more measured in response to events unfolding at Fukushima – science bloggers. Barry Brooks of bravenewclimate republished a lengthy post written by Josef Oehmen, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and originally published by Jason Morgan. Brooks and Morgan are supporters of nuclear power, and consider the mainstream coverage of the nuclear power plant “partial meltdown” to be overblown and full of errors. Oehmen gives his thoughts based only on what he has read in the media, but immediately seeks to put people at ease: There was and will *not* be any significant release of radioactivity. By “significant” I mean a level of radiation of more than what you would receive on – say – a long distance flight, or drinking a glass of beer that comes from certain areas with high levels of natural background radiation. Comparisons have been drawn between Fukushima and Chernobyl already, although science bloggers have advised restraint. Image by Osakabe Yasuo, copyright Demotix (04/06/2009). Serious, but overhyped Echoing Dr. Oehmen's concerns that the situation at Fukushima is serious but still overhyped, David Ropeik writes a post at the Scientific American Guest Blog.