Radiation

Thursday afternoon, Kansas health officials announced miniscule levels of radiation from japan have been found in the Kansas air. Authorities are quick to point out this is thousands of times below any un-safe level. "The list is long, long, long on what contains radiation," said Randy Owen.  He is the Supervisor for the city of Wichita's Air Quality Program.  He, like any other science expert will tell you, "there's always radiation, it's everywhere. " Stones, rocks, concrete all emit radiation.  Even the ashes of burned plants have radiation.

State officials say very small levels of iodine-131 from the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors have been detected in Kansas. The EPA says the miniscule levels are being found all across the country and are far below levels of human health concern. Lt. Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. stressed there is no anticipated health threat to the U.S. or Kansas. "We understand the concern Kansans may have. What we are seeing is a miniscule blip on the meter. The consensus remains from international, national and state health experts that this does not pose a health risk to Kansans," said Lt. Gov. Colyer.

Americans have nothing to worry about.  That's the word from a radiation expert in Wichita about the chemicals being released from japan's nuclear power plant. Jerry Thomas is a radiological physicist at Via Christi Medical Center.  He says radiation risks to Americans have been blown out of proportion. While he doesn't know the exact amount of radioactive chemicals being released by Japan's facility, he says risks to soldiers and sailors are minimal. He compares their exposure to getting an X-Ray.  Thomas says people do not need to stock up on potassium iodide pills which are used to prevent radiation from causing thyroid cancer.

Americans have nothing to worry about. That's what one Wichita radiation expert says concerning the chemicals being released at Japan's nuclear power plant. Jerry Thomas is a radiological physicist at Via Christi Medical Center.   He says radiation risks to americans have been blown out of proportion. While he doesn't know the exact amount of radioactive chemicals being released by Japan's facility, he says risks to soldiers and sailors is minimal too. He compares their exposure to getting an X-ray.

Radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has been detected in the United States.  The Environmental Protection Agency says it was expected, and the levels are below levels that would trigger public health concerns. You can track radiation detected across the country through this map . There is a monitor station in Wichita.   And check out this chart that shows everyday exposure to radiation.  

It's a billboard that may have had math whizzes all over Wichita scratchng their heads. The ad stated Galichia Heart Hospital's new Low Dose CT Scanner uses "up to 300-percent less radiation" than a traditional CT machine. It might sound impressive, but as Eyewitness News viewer "Randy" pointed out, it's not possible to reduce the amount of radiation by that amount since 100% would represent all the radiation available. "Will this thing actually suck the residual radiation from my body?"

A report from The Netherlands found its way to the internet recently claiming that the signal from a Wi-Fi router was making trees sick. A local biologist says the report's findings are unlikely. The study came from several Dutch universities and is still not published. But the initial findings were posted on several blogs and websites. It spread so quickly that the Dutch government sent out a press release explaining it. The research says the signals that get computers and cell phones on the internet wirelessly were causing trees in urban areas to grow slowly and bleed.

The radiation emitted after just 50 minutes on a mobile phone increases the activity in brain cells, according to a new government-funded study. The effects of that brain activity are not known, said the researchers, who called for more study. Phones that were turned off did not create the same brain activity. The small study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, is the first to look specifically at how electromagnetic radiation from cell phones affects glucose metabolism, a normal function, in the brain.

By Kara Sewell (WICHITA, Kan.) In a case of convention versus conviction, Katie Wernecke's parents won. But before their victory Katie's family underwent a month long legal battle after her parents refused traditional chemotherapy to treat their daughters Hodgkin's disease. A Texas judge finally allowed Katie to come here Wichita's Bright Spot for Health, for alternative treatment. "It's really a very difficult thing for a parent to feel like the child is going to be taken out of their hands and i know as a father myself i would be very upset," says Dr. Ron Hunninghake.

(WICHITA, Kan.) In the last of our Medical Incredible Series, we head to Wesley Medical Center. For the past five years, it's been home to the Gamma Knife, a machine targeting brain tumors. Starting next month, it's home to another machine, called the Trilogy, for targeting the rest of your body. At her home in Park City, Tempe Fitzpatrick watches television with her husband. She leans back against the couch, resting. But last year, things were much different. "From my understanding, less than 1% of the population has them," she said, referring to an abnormal collection of blood vessels.

Most people cannot pick up a car, but someone found a way to move a Cadillac. Then, they stole what was hiding underneath. Now a Hutchinson business is out thousands of dollars. Silas Manche goes to work with a mission. He pulls valuable parts out of cars before they are crushed and sent off. It takes a lot of manual labor to get the job done. "I've got so much sweat and blood invested in this place out here. Sometimes I feel like, why do I even put all this work into it, if somebody is going to steal it," said Silas.

State officials say very small levels of iodine-131 from the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors have been detected in Kansas. The EPA says the miniscule levels are being found all across the country and are far below levels of human health concern. Lt. Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. stressed there is no anticipated health threat to the U.S. or Kansas. "We understand the concern Kansans may have. What we are seeing is a miniscule blip on the meter. The consensus remains from international, national and state health experts that this does not pose a health risk to Kansans," said Lt. Gov. Colyer.

Thursday afternoon, Kansas health officials announced miniscule levels of radiation from japan have been found in the Kansas air. Authorities are quick to point out this is thousands of times below any un-safe level. "The list is long, long, long on what contains radiation," said Randy Owen.  He is the Supervisor for the city of Wichita's Air Quality Program.  He, like any other science expert will tell you, "there's always radiation, it's everywhere. " Stones, rocks, concrete all emit radiation.  Even the ashes of burned plants have radiation.

Radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has been detected in the United States.  The Environmental Protection Agency says it was expected, and the levels are below levels that would trigger public health concerns. You can track radiation detected across the country through this map . There is a monitor station in Wichita.   And check out this chart that shows everyday exposure to radiation.  

Americans have nothing to worry about.  That's the word from a radiation expert in Wichita about the chemicals being released from japan's nuclear power plant. Jerry Thomas is a radiological physicist at Via Christi Medical Center.  He says radiation risks to Americans have been blown out of proportion. While he doesn't know the exact amount of radioactive chemicals being released by Japan's facility, he says risks to soldiers and sailors are minimal. He compares their exposure to getting an X-Ray.  Thomas says people do not need to stock up on potassium iodide pills which are used to prevent radiation from causing thyroid cancer.

Americans have nothing to worry about. That's what one Wichita radiation expert says concerning the chemicals being released at Japan's nuclear power plant. Jerry Thomas is a radiological physicist at Via Christi Medical Center.   He says radiation risks to americans have been blown out of proportion. While he doesn't know the exact amount of radioactive chemicals being released by Japan's facility, he says risks to soldiers and sailors is minimal too. He compares their exposure to getting an X-ray.

The radiation emitted after just 50 minutes on a mobile phone increases the activity in brain cells, according to a new government-funded study. The effects of that brain activity are not known, said the researchers, who called for more study. Phones that were turned off did not create the same brain activity. The small study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, is the first to look specifically at how electromagnetic radiation from cell phones affects glucose metabolism, a normal function, in the brain.

It's a billboard that may have had math whizzes all over Wichita scratchng their heads. The ad stated Galichia Heart Hospital's new Low Dose CT Scanner uses "up to 300-percent less radiation" than a traditional CT machine. It might sound impressive, but as Eyewitness News viewer "Randy" pointed out, it's not possible to reduce the amount of radiation by that amount since 100% would represent all the radiation available. "Will this thing actually suck the residual radiation from my body?"

A report from The Netherlands found its way to the internet recently claiming that the signal from a Wi-Fi router was making trees sick. A local biologist says the report's findings are unlikely. The study came from several Dutch universities and is still not published. But the initial findings were posted on several blogs and websites. It spread so quickly that the Dutch government sent out a press release explaining it. The research says the signals that get computers and cell phones on the internet wirelessly were causing trees in urban areas to grow slowly and bleed.

By Kara Sewell (WICHITA, Kan.) In a case of convention versus conviction, Katie Wernecke's parents won. But before their victory Katie's family underwent a month long legal battle after her parents refused traditional chemotherapy to treat their daughters Hodgkin's disease. A Texas judge finally allowed Katie to come here Wichita's Bright Spot for Health, for alternative treatment. "It's really a very difficult thing for a parent to feel like the child is going to be taken out of their hands and i know as a father myself i would be very upset," says Dr. Ron Hunninghake.