Chernobyl 1986 vs. Fukushima Japan Radiation

The Fukushima Japan 2011 reactor radiation leak really does not compare to the level of radiation released by The Chernobyl 1986 Disaster. Even the radiation exposure from a mammogram (for breast cancer) is more than that released by the Fukushima leak.

The Chernobyl Accident occurred on April 26, 1986. It is the worst nuclear power plant in history, scoring a 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the maximum available score).

The Fukushima I nuclear accident has released radiation, but not to the extent of the Chernobyl Incident. The Fukushima accident was triggered by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake (9.0 magnitude) and the tsunami which followed shortly afterward. The earthquake and tsunami happened on March 11, 2011.

We actually absorb radiation all the time. The radiation comes from living next to a nuclear power plant, sleeping next to someone else, taking a plane ride, getting an X-Ray, or even eating a banana!

A person living in a town next to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant on March 17th would get an extra dose of radiation (3.5 microsieverts) in one day that is comparable to a dental or hand X-ray (about 5 microsieverts). You get about ten times the dose of radiation from an airplane flight from New York to Los Angeles (40 microsieverts).

If you spent a day on the grounds at Chernobyl in 2010, you’d get about 144 millisieverts! Twenty-four years after the Chernobyl Accident you’d receive over 40,000 times the radiation absorbed by someone living in a town surrounding the Fukushima reactors.

Let’s compare apples to apples, though. If you spent an hour next to the Chernobyl reactor core after the explosion and meltdown in 1986, you’d get about 50 Sieverts. A deadly dose is 8 Sieverts, so you’re a goner at that level of radiation. However, if you spent an hour near the Fukushima reactor at a place with the highest recorded radiation levels, you’d receive only 150 microsieverts. One hour next to Chernobyl equals 333,333 hours next to Fukushima…that’s about 38 years.

Here’s a great chart compiled by Randall Munroe at xkcd.com. I think it explains things better than I can. Click on it to make it bigger and easier to read.

Last modified about about 2 years ago.

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