XKCD's Randall Munroe Visually Explains Radiation Risks

Above: a small portion of Randall Munroe's radiation dose chart. Did you know you can recive radiation by dleeping next to someone else? Eating a banadan? Did you know that you, yourself, emanate radiation?


Randall Munroe attempts to decipher all this here talk about safe radiation levels in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant troubles in Japan. He's put together a radiation dose chart.

There’s a lot of discussion of radiation from the Fukushima plants, along with comparisons to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Radiation levels are often described as “ times the normal level” or “% over the legal limit,” which can be pretty confusing.

Adam Ragusea, a reporter and associate producer for the Boston-based NPR station WBUR, has made a sound version of the graph.

Hat tip to P.J. Skerrett!