Loading ...I had never heard of Skyshine before – maybe it applies to Russian reactors without real containment buildings ? Western containment buildings attenuate radiation in all directions , whereas Chernobyl style reactors had nothing much more than a steel shed instead . When that failed in the explosion , shine was certainly directed skyward , cooking those who flew over afterward to review damage and then cap the breech with heavy concrete . I think in the case of the Japanese BWRs , the failed buildings were the turbine/generator buildings where radiation would be orders of magnitude less than at the reactor vessel surface ( inside the containment building ) . The failed fuel would be orders of magnitude greater than at the outer surface of the vessel .
In my former line of work I have on many occasions held samples (VERY BRIEFLY) taken from the surface of irradiated fuel ,which samples pegged a Geiger-Mueller monitor , but held at arm’s length , my lifetime whole body dose is insignificant .
As I said , I am puzzled .