Why Care About Radiation
Come on Radition? Every day around the world contamination of radioactive particles are threatening your health and survival. This is not the thing of science fiction, but science fact. Urban centers are grappling with significant issues of radioactive contaminants in their drinking water supplies. The contamination is not limited to, the water but has been increasingly found in rain, snow, grains, grasses, and even milk.
Radiation? I have no idea There are many types of radiation (see the button to the right radiation 101). The type of radiation that you need to be aware of and understand is called ionizing radiation. From a biological standpoint ionizing radiation is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Ionizing radiation penetrates glass, wood, sheet rock, and up to 3 feet of earth. Ionizing radiation can alter DNA, cause cell death, or a change in cell reproduction most commonly causing mutation. The mutation is most commonly identified as cancer. Ionizing radiation occurs in two forms; particulate (sub-atomic particles of dust, dirt, any solid; known as alpha and Beta particles) that emit radiation and electromagnetic radiation (X-rays and gamma rays).
Why should I care? Many people do not want to know the answer to that question. During the entire span of the Cold War years there was never a tangible risk to Americans on home soil like is the reality today. I am not talking about the threat of nuclear attack from North Korea or some rogue terrorist organization. I am referring to the fallout affecting the Pacific Northwest today via rainwater. It may well be the result of the reactor leak and meltdown at Fukushima, Japan or a result of leakage from the Hanford, Washington, US Department of Energy site. Click here for more on the Washington State issue
You don't believe it? Many people respond in disbelief when I tell them about Fukushima and Hanford. There response is "if that was true would not be hearing about it in the news" to which I say, I guess you don't read the news. Because if you Google Hanford or Fukushima radioactive rain and particulate there are not enough hours in the day for you to read just the First Line of each item on the subject. Those two locations are only the tip of the iceberg in the problem when it comes to radioactive particulates in both the groundwater and passed through vegetation into livestock and crops destined for your dinner plate.
How does this affect drinking water? When it comes to drinking water contamination from the previously mentioned sites as well as active nuclear reactors represent only a portion of the challenge faced by public water treatment authorities in the challenge of delivering safe drinking water to your faucet. Imagine how much more difficult it is for an individual without technical knowledge to assure their own health and safety when harvesting water from unknown sources such as streams, lakes, rivers, rainwater and even snow with a limited budget. It is a daunting task but with a little bit of knowledge and a basic understanding of the science behind radiation and radioactive particulate even an individual can be reasonably successful at removing radioactive particulate from their drinking water. We can all learn from the experience and expertise which is been built with our tax money over the past years as the public water treatment facilities have come to terms with removing this real and growing threat.
How can I make my drinking water safe? Simply put, the simplest way to remove radioactive particulate from your drinking water is through the process of filtration through media known as Ion Exchange Resins or the use of Reverse Osmosis (RO). Ion exchange resin filters are used quite commonly in public water treatment facilities and also in concert with water softeners in private well systems. There are many large chemical companies including Siemens, Dow, and many more. The resin is based upon a very highly porous, extremely absorbent material. One of the most effective and common ion exchange resins is known as zeolite. Zeolites have been found naturally occurring around the world in about 40 variations. Zeolites are inert, have a neutral impact on the environment and are highly effective at scrubbing both air and water of contaminants. They're extremely effective at bonding with radioactive particulate. Many reverse osmosis units use an ion exchange resin filter as part of its overall. The reverse osmosis units remove many types of particles and ions from the water by passing the water through a membrane which acts as a microscopic screen which only allows nearly pure water to pass through.
Filtering and purifying your water at home or in the office can be a simple process through the use of ion exchange resin filters and/or reverse osmosis. Reliable units with electronic notification devices to remind the user that the unit requires filter or membrane replacement as well as warning of membrane failure are highly recommended. Reverse osmosis is an inefficient method of processing raw water because it requires that a significant amount of rejected water is dumped along with the rejected particulate. It also requires an average minimum of 30 psi in order to flow water. Obviously, this makes reverse osmosis much more complicated in off grid scenarios.
This is why Will uses the Sawyer Absolute .02 hollow fiber membrane water filter. (Click here to read about it on Sawyer's website)
Coronal Mass Ejections
Earth Magnetosphere
F10.7 CM Radio Emissions
Galactic Cosmic Rays
Geomagnetic Storms
Solar EUV Radiation
Solar Flares (Radio Blackouts)
Solar Radiation Storm
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