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Comment by labster | Hacker News Reader

But how many people were saved from cancer deaths, because they weren’t exposed to more radiation in the upper atmosphere? Is that offset by breathing more ozone and PM2.5 on the roadway?

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No. That's the same amount of radiation as eating an average banana gives you.

I've never understood the banana reference. Are they saying that there's so little radiation from a high altitude flight that it's the equivalent to a banana, or that a banana is an unusually high source of radiation?

Bananas are rich in potassium which can be radioactive. On average, bananas emit roughly similar amounts of radiation as high altitude flight. The intent is to demonstrate the silliness of the argument that flying poses some kind of radiation risk that elevates mortality - would you claim that eating a banana (even at population scale) meaningfully changes mortality?

People hear radiation and lose rationality because of the fear mongering in the 50s and beyond.

> would you claim that eating a banana (even at population scale) meaningfully changes mortality

Probably not, but only because "That's silly, bananas are just fruit!" rather than because of any scientific study I've seen or done. So you really shouldn't listen to me.

The only time I've really seen this info about bananas being bad is typically in Taboola sponsored ads that I'll never click on and only see when I'm using some device that's not mine not using blockers.

Just because of where the article is listed, I've always just assumed it to be crackpottery.

>> rich in potassium which can be radioactive.

All potassium is always radioactive. Unless your have a gas centrifuge facility next to your greenhouse, all your bananas are always radioactive.

>All potassium is always radioactive

While practically true, this is sufficiently imprecise to bother the more pedantic variety of nerd; for accuracy I therefore quote the relevant section of Wikipedia (a resource we should give daily thanks for):

"Naturally occurring potassium is composed of three isotopes, of which potassium-40 is radioactive. Traces of potassium-40 are found in all potassium, and it is the most common radioisotope in the human body."

Bananas have a lot of potassium which is naturally radioactive

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