This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Can Vitamins or Herbs Help Protect Us from Radiation?
Preface: This is written for the
millions of people around the world who are worried about radiation from
the Japanese nuclear reactors. For those who are not worried about
radiation from Japan, you can ignore this post, or save it for any
future radiation scares closer to home.
How do we protect ourselves against radiation?
It is true that potassium iodide protects against high doses of a certain type of radiation. As the New York Times notes:
Fortunately,
an easy form of protection is potassium iodide, a simple compound
typically added to table salt to prevent goiter and a form of mental
retardation caused by a dietary lack of iodine.
If
ingested promptly after a nuclear accident, potassium iodide, in
concentrated form, can help reduce the dose of radiation to the thyroid
and thus the risk of cancer. In the United States, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission recommends that people living within a 10-mile
emergency planning zone around a nuclear plant have access to potassium
iodide tablets.
Indeed, virtually all suppliers of potassium iodide have sold out, especially after , the U.S. Surgeon General recommended that West Coast residents stock up.
But as I noted yesterday:
Keep in mind that iodide only protects against one particular radioactive element: radioactive iodine, technically known as iodine-131. Iodine-131 has a half life of only 8.02 days. That means that the iodine loses half of its radioactivity within 8 days.
The government hasn't stockpiled much potassium iodide. As the New York Times notes:
Congress
passed legislation in 2002 requiring the federal government to supply
potassium iodide capsules to people living within 20 miles of nuclear
power plants in the United States.
But the
administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama have not implemented
that provision, saying the law allows for alternatives.
Some states have given pills to people living within 10 miles of nuclear plants, or stockpiled the pills for those people.
But
given that the government says that only minute amounts of radiation
will hit the United States, and given that iodine-131 has such a short
half-life, the whole issue may be moot (many, however, do not trust the
government's assurances. See this and this).
And taking high doses of potassium iodide can be harmful, especially
for people with certain pre-existing medical conditions. So talk to your
doctor before taking any.
Other Radiation Dangers
While iodine-131 poisoning can be prevented with potassium iodide, there are no silver bullets for other radioactive isotopes.
As I've pointed out previously:
The New York Times noted last week that - in addition to iodine-131, the big danger is cesium:
Over the long term, the big threat to human health is cesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years.
At that rate of disintegration, John Emsley wrote in “Nature’s
Building Blocks” (Oxford, 2001), “it takes over 200 years to reduce it
to 1 percent of its former level.”
It is cesium-137 that still contaminates much of the land in Ukraine around the Chernobyl reactor.
***
Cesium-137 mixes easily with water and is chemically similar to
potassium. It thus mimics how potassium gets metabolized in the body and
can enter through many foods, including milk.
***
The Environmental Protection Agency says that ... once dispersed in
the environment ... cesium-137 “is impossible to avoid.”Cesium-137 is light enough to be carried by the wind a substantial distance.
There is no surefire prevention for cesium-137. As the EPA notes in a discussion entitled " What can I do to protect myself and my family from cesium-137?":
Cesium-137 that is dispersed in the environment, like that from atmospheric testing, is impossible to avoid.
Neither
the EPA - nor any other government agency - gives advice on how to
minimize the danger from cesium-137 poisoning. Some have theorized
about
So does that mean that we're sitting ducks?
Well, the fact that there is no silver bullet (although some have theorized about potential approaches) does not mean that there is nothing we can do.
Some Foods and Herbs May Help
Many
foods and herbs have shown efficacy in helping to protect against
radiation poisoning. Indeed, antioxidants in general have been found by
some studies to reduce the consequences of radiation exposure.
A
leading alternative health authority - Dr. Andrew Weil, a medical
doctor who runs the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of
Arizona - writes today in response to the question of how to protect ourselves against radiation:
I
discussed other preventive strategies with Tieraona Low Dog, M.D.,
director of The Fellowship at the Arizona Center for Integrative
Medicine and an expert on botanical health. She said that there is
reason to believe that taking two to four grams of curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, can help protect a number of body tissues. In addition, reishi and cordyceps mushrooms
can protect bone marrow from toxic assaults, and antioxidants can
help the body defend itself from radiation damage. Since radioactive
particles may be carried by dust, having a HEPA filter in your home
would also be a good idea in the event of a nuclear accident that is
close enough to be of concern.
Dr. Tieraona Low Dog
is a medical doctor who has impressive credentials in herbal medicine,
and who has been tapped to fill a number of health related posts in
government.
Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock - on the editorial staff of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons - also recommends foods and herbs to help protect us from radiation:
“Most
of the health risks are not going to be due to acute radiation
poisoning,” he tells Newsmax. “It’s going to be a risk of increased
cancer.” …
If radiation does arrive in the United States, people
would need “to change their diet. They need to stop eating Western
farm products,” Blaylock says. …
Among the supplements he cited, iodine can protect the thyroid gland if taken before the exposure to radiation.
Gingko biloba can be protective even after exposure to radiation. Beta-glucan protects the bone marrow. Curcumin also can offer protection after exposure, particularly against breast cancer. He also suggests garlic extract, ginger, melatonin, and magnesium. …
We understand if all of this sounds a bit flakey, crunchy, woo-woo and hippy-ish.
And none of these are 100% effective even against low doses of radiation.
But
there are actually numerous scientific studies backing up the ability
of some foods and herbs to help protect us from radiation. Admittedly,
some scientific studies are good studies and some are of worthless
quality. But the rest of this post will round up some of the scientific
literature for your review.
As the Journal of Clinical Biochemical Nutrition noted in 2007:
The results obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that several botanicals such as Gingko biloba, Centella asiatica, Hippophae rhamnoides, Ocimum sanctum, Panax ginseng, Podophyllum hexandrum, Amaranthus paniculatus, Emblica officinalis, Phyllanthus amarus, Piper longum, Tinospora cordifoila, Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita, Syzygium cumini, Zingiber officinale, Ageratum conyzoides, Aegle marmelos and Aphanamixis polystachya protect against radiation-induced lethality, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage.
Many inexpensive foods have protective properties against radiation, including:
- Garlic
(one Indian tribe living in the desert of Nevada used to eat bulbs of
raw garlic to help protect against radiation from the above-ground
nuclear tests)
- Curcurim (and see this) - the active ingredient in turmeric which, in turn, is in yellow curry (available in Indian and Thai dishes).
- Miso (when it has been "long-fermented", instead of fermented for a shorter time)
Many herbs and supplements available at health food stores and
drugstores pharmacies have protective properties against radiation,
including:
- Vitamin E (see this and this; the natural form is probably much healthier for you than the synthetic form)
- American Ginseng (indeed, one study apparently found American Ginseng helped prevent damage from cesium-137)
- Rhodiola, an adaptogen
- Holy basil (and see this; also called tulasi; this is the top herb in traditional Ayurvedic - i.e. Indian - medicine)
- Spirulina, a blue-green algae available at health food stores
- Tomato extract (Lycopersicon)
- Reishi mushrooms (and see this)
- Cordyceps mushroom (and see this)
- Milk thistle (and see this)
- Sesamol (an extract from sesame seeds)
- Melatonin applied to the skin
- Thiol family of antioxidants, such as N-acetyl cysteine, glutathione and thioproline
- Beta-glucan (a yeast derivative)
And many herbs commonly available in some parts of the world have protective properties against radiation, including:
- Aloe arborescens (commonly known as "Krantz Aloe", a lesser-known member of the aloe family)
- Tinospora cordifolia (known as "guduchi")
Note:
Just because herbs are "natural" does not mean that they can be
swallowed in large doses without side effects. Herbs can have powerful
effects, just like medicine. As such, you should treat them with
respect and study proper dosage and potential side effects before
taking them.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a health professional, and this should not be taken as medical advice.
Nothing contained herein is intended to diagnose or treat any
condition. You should consult your doctor before making any decisions
about whether or not to take any of the foods, herbs, supplements or
substances mentioned herein.
- advertisements -
I believe that the herbal and plant kingdom can be of great value and service to us. Even though we pollute this earth beyond measure. I hope we can somehow change our relationship with the earth that we live on and use the resources wisely. That said herbs are wonderful for flavorings, cooking and even healing. The ones you mentioned above are good an powerful ones, that could help our immune systems not absorp too much radiation.
http://homeopathicmedicines.biz/herbs-for-nuclear-radiation-poisioning-a...
They (EU Commission) are now banning these herbal medicins!
http://info.kopp-verlag.de/hintergruende/europa/mike-adams/hunderte-pfla...
Yes, it's an attack on the freedom to interact with nature. (Creating dependency.)
prevents the absorption of radioactive Strontium 90, which is a by-product of above ground nuclear testing. It accumulates in the bone tissue. Since the nuclear accidents at three Mile Island, Chernobyl and God knows where else, Strontium 90 toxicity has been linked to Hodgkin's Disease, leukemia and bone cancer. McGill University revealed that it also inhibits the absorption of Barium, Plutonium and Cadmium. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommends that you ingest 3 ounces of Kelp per week or take a daily supplement of Sodium Alginate
!!!!
Link, please ...
https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCAQFjAD&url=...
Through a process of "chelation" or "eggbox" the cellulose pectin structures of fruit, namely apple seem to encapsulate radio isotopic metals as well.
Here's a more recent study:
https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBkQFjAB&url=...
Here's a fun looking doctor with a fun accent. What he's saying seems to check out though. They did try cellulose membrane - pectin containing food on the Pripriyat children, many who suffered from ingesting radioactive lead particles. (because as you know, they dumped a lot of lead into the molten ractor core - which with the sand seems to have stopped that runaway disaster back then)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyvMPw2iCTo
I also found a detailed Iodium 131 dispersion pattern: http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/news/fukushima?LANG=en&VAR=niluja...
In the USA, there's also the Corexit-Crude-mutated bacteria dioxine excretions disaster, which to me seems the bigger risk in the near future (save Fukushima blows up of course, and launches a ton of plutonium into the stratosphere.) Once that hurricane shows up, and dumps water on the midwest..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40QR9q4SMA8
But that's another story.
Clowns to the left of us, jokers to the right..
cheerio! 5 star for your practical article!
yes, this corroberates this: http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html
Cancer can be treated by eating certain food, this is called "antiangiogenesis".
HOW FUCKING SAD IS IT THAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AS UP NEXT THURSDAY HAS BANNED ALL MEDICINAL HERBS AND VITAMINS :-(
As up 1st of april, all (now freely available medicinal herbs and vitamins) will be regulated, which means they're banned unless tested in expensive laboratoria, and labelled by the pharmaceutical industry. Of course there were no problems at all related to the use of medicinal herbs or vitamins. Here's a petition against this proposed legislation, though I think, from the (illigal) ignoring of a petition against allowing Monsanto's GMOs by this Commission (over 1,3 million signatures that one), the only language these apparatschiks in Brussels understand is hot lead.
http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20100930_OTS0084/praesidentin-der...
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/39757.html
Why apologize if the info sounds hippyish?
It's not like the suits and the squares are any smarter.
After all, who got us into this mess? Who is willing to kill an acceptable number of us so they can be rich?
Who lies and lies and has no backup plan and no relief for the stricken?
Fools and tools.
And we trust THEM, why?
Yea really. Don't eat the brown acid turned out to be pretty good avdvice, and it came from a hippy.
"given that iodine-131 has such a short half-life"
If Fukushima continues to spew iodine-131, and we continue to get exposed to it, the half-life does not seem relevant at all.
We'll be the ones with the half lives.
The principle is sound. Radiation exposure causes free radical damage to the body. Antioxidant vitamins, (and some herbs, fresh vegtables, seaweeds and mushrooms), soak up free radicals, reducing the damage somewhat. This is not a new idea, and it is downplayed by the medical establishment, probably because cancer treatment is so profitable. Though much more is known now, i first saw this idea in "Are you radioactive?" an out of print book from 1973 :
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/407978/used/Are%20you%20radioactive%3F%20How%20to%20protect%20yourself
EDIT: In looking at the effects of antioxidants over time, it seems that increasing the variety and freshness of the antioxidants consumed has a greater positive effect than just increasing the quantity.
In case no one knows, betadine (for wound care) has a a lower % of iodine, and can also be used topically (best on thin skin of inner forearm-absorbed easily through the skin) 3x2" patch daily for 7 days instead of potassium iodide.
Betadine... something your doctor/vet will not tell you (I use this on my animals all of the time): Betadine is roughly 40% iodine, 40% sugar, 20% water. The mixture varies on what you're using it for. More sugar for a paste, more water for a rinse, etc etc.
very good read, and learned something.
There's a special cactus extract called Tex-OE. Made by a French pharma firm, very well-studied. Repairs damage to DNA and cells. Look it up if you're interested.
Somehow, taking advice from someone named Dr. Low Dog is as good as taking advice from someone named Mc. Snoop Dogg.
I only take advice from a guy named Deputy Dog.
melatonin is your best bet for a panacea.
magnesium over many months is a close second.
everyone should be on magnesium. its the primary way we have destroyed the food supply over many decades.
Edit
There's nothing better than curcumin and reishi or cordyceps. These stuff are powerfull cancer cells killers.
Ive been told reishi makes a good substitute for bittering hops in beer though I havn't tried it. With spring coming on, should I spot any out in the woods, I'll give her a go.
This is silly. Nothing but physical isolation can protect you from ionizing radiation of long-lived particles. The only reason iodine works at all is it prevents radioactive iodine from lodging in the thyroid but it does not prevent it from entering the blood or passing through the kidneys and what not. It's just like in the 1950s. Stay out of the garden, don't plow the fields for a couple of days and so on. In 16 days all the iodine is 90% inert and it takes 12 days for it to cross the ocean. The Cesium we are just going to have to live with as it has a half life of 30 years and gets into the muscles but it also gets bound to the salt in ocean water so the concentrations would be very low. The plutonium and other heavier elements are just that - heavy. So unlkess you are right close to the source these sink to the bottom of the ocean and get subducted.
Being an herbalist I can give some advice here. Save your money. Don't go out and buy alot of herbs thinking you will help yourself from med/large dose radiation. My simple advice is eat well. Get plenty of rest and maintain your health. Taking a quality multi-vitamin is a good idea. A whey product like glutathene is a good idea to maintain your glutathione levels which is good for your overall health and to maintain your liver. Thats about the best you can do. If you get radiation poisoning go to the hospital! No herbs will help you. Sorry but thats the truth.
The problem is how can one eat well if the soil, vegetables, fruits, fish and water are contaminated ?
Eating right is in anyways not enough with radiations. Numerous of these herbs and vitamins are proven effective against cancer and cells damage such as curcumin, reishi, cordyceps, spirulina, Vit D3 and vit E to name the most well-known. I say go for it and share it with others. It's worth a try.
Forget those vitamins, and drink red wine! During Chernobyl, all "liquidators" were given plenty of red wine.
Won't be long now till the FDA bans all those dangerous supplements at the urging of big-pharma ala Codex Alimentarius.
Nice work sir. It may not help, but anything is better than no option.
Good article GW, and I was glad to see the note at the bottom about side effects and over dosing.
N-acetyl cysteine forms glutathione (don't take glutathione itself, as it is expensive, and is destroyed in the stomach) in the bloodstream, which is an antioxidant, and thus helps to mitigate damage from the free radicals created by radiation. It also has a large number of other uses in the body, including fueling the killing ability of t-cells, and regulating sleep (ie, it will help you to sleep AFTER it has been oxidized from one of the above uses).
Since we are talking about taking supplements that "could" help, I am pretty sure that Whey Protein would also potentially be useful. I mean your body is over 2/3rds protein anyway. Oh, and water... Yes, good clean water would be another... Just a suggestion, but if it is the air that we breath that is being contaminated, wouldn't all of the supplements above also potentially be contaminated as well which would negate any potential benefit? Just something to think about...
Flakey-check
Crunchy-check
Woo-woo-check
Hippyish-check
I misread it as CAT VITAMINS, i am like...
It all depends on the doze of radiation. And rather than protect, some 'foods' can help getting radioactive elements out of the body. I ve heard that especially 'berries' (antioxidants) work, but one got to make sure those are from clean areas , otherwise they will do more harm.
Thanks George, enjoyed your pieces. Another one need to know.
Thank you, GW!
The only thing I would add is that iodized salt has about 50% of your RDA of iodine per teaspoon (if memory serves, which would be unusual for me). Just a FYI if you can't get the KI pills.
Kelp is high in iodine and was used before iodized salt. Also the sodium alginate in kelp helps prevent absorption of radioactive strontium 90. Studies also show that kelp also protects the body from others such as: barium, cadmium, plutonium and cesium. McGrill University in Montreal.
The tannins in Green or Black tea, called catechins, may help prevent tissue damage and bone marrow absorption of radiation.
These are suggestions, which can be found in a book called, "The Healing Herbs: The Ultimate Guide to the Curative Power of Natures Medicines".
Edit: Please do your own research on amounts and dosages for all herbal intake. Many factors dictate the amount you can consume without side effects. Young children and older adults cannot consume the same amounts as others so please consult a physician before starting a herbal supplement regimen for you and/or your family members!
Iodine is probably transmitted out of the body in form of sweat; so sweat a lot if in contact with radioactive iodine. Make love using condoms to limit body fluid exchange and sweat like hell! Good game plan for couples in Northern Japan....
Be careful with tea though. The plant seems to soak up a lot of fluoride, which is a byproduct of industrial and agricultural processes in many a chinese province....
Summary: No. No they cant.
I was expecting someone to say that marijuana offers protection against radiation, and therefore should be legalized because of it...
Sounds like a good idea to me and thanks George from the Left Coast.
Good work sir.
Dangers, Properties, possible Uses and Methods of Purification of radioactively contaminated (drinking) Water (e.g. in Japan) http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/inove/img/icons.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; display: block; font-size: 11px; float: left; background-position: 0px -48px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">2011-03-22http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/inove/img/icons.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; display: block; font-size: 11px; float: left; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">crisismavenhttp://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/inove/img/icons.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; display: block; font-size: 11px; float: right; background-position: 0px -112px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Leave a commenthttp://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/inove/img/icons.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; display: block; font-size: 11px; float: right; background-position: 0px -96px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">Go to comments
Most methods and tools being recommended here on the Internet such as purification by filtration will not lead to your desired result of decontaminating “radioactive water”.
a) Radioactive contamination of drinking water in Japan at this point in time can come about in only two ways:
1) The source is actual surface water like lakes or rivers, possibly filtrated through river banks and thus came into contact with e.g. radioactive rain and/or dust. The Netherlands rely almost totally on water drawn from the Rhine and fed into the drinking water supply after conditioning.
2) The water may have been contaminated after production (e.g. in open cisterns/basins), which in effect is similar to bullet a1).
In all other cases it springs from groundwater (wells) and has often been concealed for years before being extracted again. As limnologists would say “groundwater” has an elephant’s memory, i.e. if you drop a can of used oil in a forest it may take ten years until you become aware of oil traces in your drinking water. This means that on one hand ground water wells should as a rule not yet show contamination from rain fall so shortly after a nuclear accident and on the other hand that when it appears further “down the road” all short-lived contamination should have decayed. This is by no means meant to downplay the issue.
So far I would have thought it unlikely to already find radioactive contamination in water that does not come from surface water or bank filtrate. If it should be true it would be alarming.
Now though, let’s assume it were true as authorities would rather hush up things than exaggerate them, thus let’s take some degree of water contamination for granted.
b) How can you reprocess radioactively contaminated (drinking) water so that it is (relatively) safe to use?
All radioactivity in (drinking) water can take only one of three forms:
1) It is in the form of radioactive hydrogen (called tritium, three times as heavy as normal hydrogen and emitting very weak beta rays, i.e. electrons, which, however, can damage yourgenome and cause cancer etc. when swallowed). When tritium has been released to the environment it will be incorporated in “heavy” water molecules. However, these are chemically indistinct from normal water, hence you cannot chemically separate radioactive water from normal water. You will have to live with tritium in your water and air (vapour) until it has decayed. With a half-life of approx. 12 years it will be down to one thousandth in about 120 years … All you can do (in theory) is move to another location where the tritium from “your” power plant has not yet reached (eventually the tritium will be evenly dispersed world-wide by wind and wave, however, then also the dosage of radiation will diminish reciprocally with its dilution). Or you “import” clean water (and add a pressurised air cylinder from a clean pristine source for good measure).
And don’t forget: once you’ve moved to another place there might be yet another malfunctioning nuclear power station around the corner – from the frypan into the fire … Help close down all nuclear power stations and so-called reprocessing plants!
2) The water could contain gases, esp. radioactive noble gases (like neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), radon (Rn)) Rather unlikely but for the sake of completeness we will mention them here. These can be driven out from the water by heating it to boiling temperature as hot liquids dissolve less gases than cold ones (with solid solubles, e.g. salts, it is vice versa with the rare exception of kitchen salt –sodium chloride- which hardly changes in solubility from almost zero to 100 degrees centigrade).
3) The main contaminants by far should be soluble solids, e.g. metal salts of e.g. radioactive caesium, rubidium etc. These can not be filtered e.g. by charcoal or any ceramic or paper filter with whatever fine pore structure since they are dissolved! You can only either try to demineralise that water (e.g. by reverse osmosis) or purify it by distillation thus leaving the radioactive solids behind (the condensed water in the lids of your pots consists of such distilled water droplets). A third potential method would be chemical precipitation. However, in order to know which chemical to use to precipitate the contaminant(s) with, you’d first have to analyse the water components. And in all probability the traces would be too small for normal analysis and if the salt etc. was determined then you might find there is noprecipitant to go with it or it may have adverse side effects, e.g. be poisonous. So de-mineralisation or distillation it is.
These are the only three viable methods that might help in this predicament. Anything else is “snake oil“.
While activated charcoal does by virtue of adsorption delay the passage even of solved saltsall these filtration methods are only really designed for capturing suspended matter. But what has been bank filtrated or springs from ground water wells is not a suspension, or at least no water utility would dare inject murky water into its system!!!
If anyone could translate this into Japanese – you are most welcome to post this anywhereif you attribute the source, and in any form and language!
See the German version here, if you are more comfortable with German:
http://www.dasgelbeforum.de.org/forum_entry.php?id=209608
And if so, you might also be interested in my collection of articles on the Japanese catastrophe, nuclear energy in general and what all this means for Japan and the rest of the world:
http://www.dasgelbeforum.de.org/forum_entry.php?id=208864
Do not use automatic translators – they will garble the meaning beyond comprehension!!! If you lose this texts precision you might as well drink the water “as is”.
I will not comment further on any other “alternative” purification methods as these have been sufficiently excoriated.
> Can you still use contaminated water for the following purposes (keep in mind, it is always a matter of how contaminated it all is!):
> – cleaning a garden path for example,
Yes, but may I suggest: only if the path would be less contaminated than before. But before you breathe contaminated dust from a contaminated path by all means use contaminated water to keep it in place! This is what is already done at Fukushima – they spray water not only for cooling purposes but also to keep the contaminated dust or radioactice debris wet and in place!
> – personal hygiene,
Rather not! You would also absorb some contaminants through your skin, however small. However, if you need to decontaminate yourself from a greater dose than what is in your water, do wash it all down and reduce your exposure! Again – “contaminated” water may be heavily or only negligibly contaminated – use your best judgment! We are talking dangerously contaminated here! The situation in your region may not yet be so dire – so please compare to normal radiation levels from the past – traces of radioactivity may not always be dangerous, but are likely to rise with ongoing leaks and further rainfall adding to ground water supplies from contaminated sources above ground.
> – to wash dishes,
Well, if you dry well it would be better than becoming ill from mouldy dishes! Only if your water were excessively contaminated I wouldn’t. However, your utility will not pump such water and your spigot would be dry by then. When your plates and glasses are without water stains, then there is also no radioactive deposit from radioactive salts. Only if you leavestains – these are the radioactive salts, if you want to take a look at them!
> – laundry,
Weigh your options: if your clothes are contaminated they should be cleaned. The harder you spin dry the less water will still remain on your fibres and the more likely what little water then is left to dry will deposit less radioactive material than you just got rid of by rinsing and washing!
> – cooking?
If you use steam only, instead of cooking in boiling water (like a pressure cooker with a separation between the boiling water and vegetables) and e.g. your vegetables do not come into direct contact with the water – then the steam will be relatively “clean” as this is almost the same process as distillation described above. Also consider frying and other methods that can do away with water. Consider using bottled water if you want to stay on the safe side or if contamination is known to be at dangerous levels, since the spray in e.g. your pressure cooker will still deposit contaminants on your food, even if not in direct contact with the boiling water.
And for drinking, but esp. for your infants or if preparing infant formulas – use bottled water from a reliable brand!!!
And good luck …
If you want to make absolutely sure, this never ever happens again, not in your country and nowhere in the world, then you should also read:
How I brought down the Nuclear Industry in my Country – and how you can do it in yours …Spread the word – feel free to e.g. repost/retranslate as long as you mention your source.
German overview article:
http://dasgelbeforum.de.org/forum_entry.php?id=208864
This is the English translation of the German original
Dangers, Properties, possible Uses and Methods of Purification of radioactively contaminated (drinking) Water“Radioaktivitaet in Trink- und Brauchwasser, Bedeutung, Beseitigung, Gefahren … das meiste funktioniert so nicht!”
(To be found here:
http://www.dasgelbeforum.de.org/forum_entry.php?id=209608)