FAQs: What are the health risks of radiation?

Concern is mounting about potential health risks of radiation from the crippled nuclear reactors in Japan. How much radiation you get depends on the dose, duration and method of exposure. Some types of radioactive particles are more dangerous or longer lasting than others.

Some basics:

Q. How are people exposed to radiation?

A. Radioactive particles in fallout can be inhaled into the lungs, fall on the skin or be ingested through contaminated food or water. The level can vary greatly even between short distances, said Dr. Fred Mettler, a University of New Mexico radiologist who led an international study of health effects after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

"You can come around a corner and the dose rate can be very high, and you get back behind a column and the dose rate is much lower," depending on what type of particles are in the fallout, whether you're standing under a roof where they've accumulated or shielded you from them, etc, he said.

Text & Images: AP

Image: A baby is checked for radiation exposure level in Nihonmatsu in Fukushima prefecture (state) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

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