Knowledge is Power

You know how the old saying goes.

In these current times of panic and grief, and with the borderless global community, know that not everything you read on the Internet is true. Just because somebody claims that the information is from a certain 'reliable' source also does not make it true.

For instance, CNN: Hot chick is now ruler of new island community, formed from this chunk of land breaking off from this piece of peninsula due to active tectonic plate activity.
Fact: CNN does not have a report on this.
Fact: The "Hot chick" in the headline refers to yours truly.
Fact: Everything else after "CNN: Hot chick" is utter rubbish.

Therefore if you received text messages that are something like this:

"4:30 in the afternoon, a nuclear power plant exploded in Fukumi. Do not go out if it rains later today and tomorrow. If you are going out, wear a raincoat or use an umbrella because if you get rained on it’s said to be dangerous. There is tendency that your skin will be burned, you will go bald or will get cancer. Please pass."

or this:

"BBC FLASHNEWS: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asia countries should take necessary precautions. If rain comes, remain indoors first 24hrs. Close doors & windows. Swab nec(k)skin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions. Radiation may hit Phil at starting 4pm today. Pls send to your loved ones."

remember that just because it says "BBC FLASHNEWS" doesn't make it true either. And instead of panicking and passing them on blindly (and perhaps heading straight to the pharmacy and clear out every bottle of Betadine they have in stock), find out how true these things are.

Looking at the first "warning", let's just say, if the rain is so dangerous as to cause chemical burns, baldness, and cancer, I am pretty sure a flimsy piece of synthetic material (umbrellas and raincoats) isn't going to provide you with much protection. And notice that the message has no explanation as to why exactly the nuclear power plant explosion has anything to do with the rain (and we shall discuss that later).

By the way, it's Fukushima, not FUKUMI. And it's Newsflash, not FLASHNEWS. Little mistakes like these also indicate the lack of reliability of these rumours.

The second message is also similar, but this one has one extra precautionary step which is to swab Betadine on your neck. First things first: Please know that Betadine is basically an antiseptic solution for cleaning wounds and used for disinfecting surfaces. ANTISEPTICS do NOT protect you from radiation sickness.

That in itself already made the whole "warning" very questionable. To add to it, these rumours start getting out of hand by claiming the occurences of ACID RAIN (which kind of explain all the warnings regarding staying out of the rain etc.) due to the nuclear power plant explosion.

Please know that a nuclear fallout and acid rain are two completely different phenomena.

Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally when lightning strikes and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions.

The burning of fossil fuel also releases sulfur dioxide. Thus COAL power plants is a cause of acid rain. Not nuclear power plants.

A nuclear fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion, so called because it "falls out" of the atmosphere after the explosion. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust created when a nuclear weapon explodes.

Note that a nuclear power plant explosion and a nuclear explosion are also two different things, just like a nuclear reactor and a nuclear bomb are two different things.

Here are some links, just in case some people still believe that a chunk of uranium from the core reactor is going to land on them tomorrow when it rains:
- Science officials: No threat of nuclear clouds, acid rain in PH
- Philippines hit by 'nuclear cloud' hoax
- Meltdown alert at Japan reactor

Irresponsible people start hoaxes like this by preying on people's fears. Ignorant people spread them out because they are, well, ignorant. You only fear the unknown.

Don't be ignorant, do yourself a favour and find things out for yourself.