Going Bananas Over Radiation

With all the worries over radiation leaks from Japan, and hoarding of potassium iodide tablets, many people might be surprised to learn that they will get more radiation from eating a single banana today than they will from Japan’s nuclear reactor problems.

While doing some research on Thorium reactors, I came across this interesting little fact that I wasn’t familiar with, so I thought I’d pass it along. Many people fear radiation — sometimes the fear is irrational, based on the erroneous concept that we live radiation-free lives. I’ll never forget the time I showed my Geiger counter to a neighbor who was shocked when it started clicking. She was horrified to learn that cosmic rays were in fact zipping right through her body right that very second. I didn’t have the heart to tell her about neutrinos.

But, along the same lines, this little factoid might drive some people “bananas” when they read it. But, it illustrates a fact of life: radiation is everywhere.

A banana equivalent dose (BED) is a concept occasionally used by nuclear power proponents to place in scale the dangers of radiation by comparing exposures to the radiation generated by a common banana. Bananas are high in potassium, and naturally radioactive, due to the isotope potassium-40 they contain. One BED is the radiation exposure received by eating a single banana.

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