New Small Fission Reactor For Deep-space Missions Demonstrated

My father was is the first lot of troops into Nagasaki and he stayed there for as part of the Japanese Occupation Force. They were given no warnings about radiation, no protective equipment, and allowed to pick and pry wherever they wanted among the ruins. HIs photos were taken from pretty much every part of the city.

He had no health problems that could be attributed to radiation. Those of his friends and shipmates who were there also were the same. In every case when they suffered serious ill health it was due to smoking or drinking.

What I have noticed though is curious congenital conditions occasionally popping up in their children, about 1 child in 4 or 5, when there was no history of it previously. This may or may not be coincidence but while these conditions may be awkward for those that have them, no-one has died from one yet.

I myself have worked with radioactive materiels and while they creep the bejesus out of anyone who has anything to do with them the radiation is not overly dangerous at low levels except over long periods, say taking x-rays every day. Even spending six months in Nagasaki starting two weeks after they dropped a plutonium bomb on it didn't cause any problems among the people I know who did it.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/FmDcthzyYPk/story01.htm

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