Is the idea of a banana equivalent dose a scientific measurement?

Answer 1

No. It is pro-nuclear Propaganda that falls apart when you really look at the analogy.

First, not all radiation is equal. Light is radiation. Cosmic rays are radiation. Bananas contain potassium-40. The potassium-40 in bananas is not the same as that of the elements that give off radiation in nuclear reactors-iodine, cesium, uranium, plutonium, etc. That is for multiple reasons: half-lives, how they accumulate in the body (or not), dosages, etc.

Second, the BED analogy breaks down in its math. 11,000 BED per year is the equivalent of the nuclear worker's annual exposure of microsieverts. Someone would have to ingest 30 bananas per day, every day, for one year to eat 11,000 bananas. That is absurd and the nuclear industry knows it.

Third, at one point, on a blog I read, there was a discussion in the comments section between obviously pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear commenters. Almost all of the pro side were quoting BED, saying phrases similar to "Look, this particular worker at Fukushima was only exposed to the equivalency of 200 bananas in a ten minute time frame." That would be like eating 200 bananas in one immediate sitting. Even more absurd than the second point above.

Fourth, its partly about dosage. The nuclear worker isn't exposed to lethal amounts of radiation on a daily basis or even an annual basis. The potential for lethal doses to be emitted from a nuclear reactor such as Fukushima increases as the crisis deepens. If the containers fail or the cooling ponds evaporate or burn off, then the amount of radiation emitted increases.

The BED sounds good in theory until you begin to poke around in it.