Radiation and Legacy's

Hi,

 

I've read a few of the other threads and know I'm gonna get bashed, but I have a question for you all and am interested in your opinion/insight.

 

I'm considering purchasing a '12 Legacy 3.6R Limited. I love the new Legacy's and they look awesome in graphite grey!!!

 

I know they are made in Indiana but 40% of the car (I think the engine and transmission) was manufactured in Japan and shipped to the US for final assembly.

 

I'm concerned on the possibility of the imported parts being radiated. The Subaru plant is just outside the "safe" zone in Japan and produce that was grown in Gunma is considered to have too much radiation on it to be exported. There are articles that state the produce from certain Japanese provinces is not being exported due to radiation, Gunma is one of those provinces. That tells me the radiation did reach Gunma and the Subaru plant. Obviously, I don't plan on eating the engine or transmission, but am concerned on the long term effects on me and my family's health if the parts are radiated. I've read articles that state the new cars and imports from Japan are being scanned for radiation but are passing the tests and are allowed to be sold to consumers because the radiation is deemed to be at levels below the standards. But, my concern is there is still radiation there and it is being detected, albeit at levels that are "not of concern". My worries are for the long term safety of these products and vehicles.

 

Does anyone have any insight on the possibility of Subaru's being contaminated?

 

Currently, I have an Impreza and a Forester and hope those aren't the last two Subaru vehicles I buy.

Almost everything in the world has some sort of radiation. I wouldn't give it a second thought. If anything I'm sure Subaru is being extra cautious as one case of radiation poisoning from their cars and that would be the end of them selling cars.

You are going to hear opinions from all over the place on this. I suggest you research it yourself. You can rent a geiger counter here for a $100. Well worth it if you are seriously considering buying the car and you have real concerns: http://www.imagesco.com/rentals/digital-geiger-counter.html

I was going to say to rent a geiger counter. Some here might think it is silly but I understand your concern, esp if you have children.

US ports scan every container for radiation and other potentially dangerous stuff as they are leaving the yard. They get the rubber glove treatment if something sets off an alarm.

 

You're good.

Thanks for your responses!! Much appreciated! I'm still torn, maybe I'm just being paranoid and over thinking this. Even if the nuclear fallout contaminated dust fell over the Subaru plant, it couldn't get into the building right? As my wife told me (and this stuck n my head) "why buy a car that has safe low levels of radiation when u can buy a car with no radiation". I said..... Because its a Subaru!!!! But now I'm also wondering.....

You're not planning on eating your car are you? Living in it?

 

Even if the Legacy did have some radiation exposure, your potential dose would be much less than an airplane flight even if you commuted an hour each way for 5 years.

No, as I stated in my original question, I'm not going to eat the engine or transmission. That's where you're wrong. There are several types of radiation. Please don't confuse radiation from cell phones, x rays, the earth with radiation from a nuclear meltdown disaster. In nuclear radiation cesium 137 is released, cesium 137 is not found naturally and is man made, only found in nuclear reactors. There were also other man made radioactive elements released during the three nuclear reactor meltdowns. Which is why I'm concerned about purchasing a new Subaru. Maybe I'll just buy a low mileage used legacy.

Yes, buy a used legacy. Lot's of people here will thank you for driving up the value of their cars. Seriously though, scanners at the border pick-up things like few too many medical x-rays. I wouldn't be concerned about radiation sneaking in via new Legacy, a lot more of it has already made it here over the air.

No, as I stated in my original question, I'm not going to eat the engine or transmission. That's where you're wrong. There are several types of radiation. Please don't confuse radiation from cell phones, x rays, the earth with radiation from a nuclear meltdown disaster. In nuclear radiation cesium 137 is released, cesium 137 is not found naturally and is man made, only found in nuclear reactors. There were also other man made radioactive elements released during the three nuclear reactor meltdowns. Which is why I'm concerned about purchasing a new Subaru. Maybe I'll just buy a low mileage used legacy.

 

Yes and no. There's ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation, ionizing radiation is the more dangerous kind. Ce-137 decays via beta particle emission which is easily shielded by a few mm of metal.

 

Your main exposure to ionizing radiation is cosmic rays while on airplane flights and medical scans.

The only reason produce isn't being sold is because it "ingests" the contamination, same with cows ingesting contaminated grass/feed and the milk they produce being unfit for sale.

 

(oh, and then of course you ingest it)

 

Cars and their parts don't become radioactive, it's possible they could become "contaminated" but simply washing them would remove it.

 

There's nothing to worry about.

Good stuff!!! Thanks for all the insight and opinions.

 

I've narrowed my choices down to 2 Legacy's:

 

2011 3.6R Limited in Steel Silver with 4800 miles for only $24.2k(prior to negotiations)

 

Or

 

2012 3.6 R Limited in Graphite Grey for only $26.7k (after negotiating with dealer)

 

 

Both of them are base Limited models with no accessories

The used 2011 was sold to the original owner in Oct 2010, so it's an early model 2011. Do you know if the "shimmy" issue was worked out by then? I know it may have a brake issue but that was a manufacture recall so I don't mind taking it in for that if it hasn't been already.

The biggest threat we faced from the nuclear meltdown was the so-called "China Syndrome", because the engineers didn't know what would happen when the nuclear material melted through the core. As it was, the material cooled and hardened by the time it got to the basement, ending the threat.

 

You face more danger from a sunburn.

I just realised the Subaru factory isn't even in Fukushima, it's in Gunma, over 180km away. The Emperor's palace in Tokyo is just over 200km away.

 

Just got back from a trip to the the in-laws' place, they live about 50km away.

 

Better wash the car.

Cool!! Did you take a tour of the Subaru factory?

 

If I ever go to Japan (probably never but if) I would definitely tour the factory!!

OMG what a bunch of paranoia. "radiated" LOL. Just so you know, the food you eat is "irradiated" to kill bacteria, this is an USDA and FDA approved sanitation process. And yes the radiation used is ionizing radiation - the dangerous kind that can kill you...

 

So you're concerned about your car being "radiated"???

 

This is right up there with not giving kids vaccines because of autism.

 

talk about spectacular FAIL.

 

*shakes head*

 

</rant>

Cool!! Did you take a tour of the Subaru factory?

 

If I ever go to Japan (probably never but if) I would definitely tour the factory!!

 

No we went to Fukushima, the Subi plant is in Gunma, they're 2 different prefectures (states). Think of it like a triangle where it's the same distance between Fukushima power station, the Subi plant and central Tokyo (basically).

 

I was gonna take my dad to the Nissan plant where they build the GT-R engine (?) when he came but it was booked out for most of the year IIRC.

 

One more thought; they found plutonium at the site in the aftermath but it wasn't from the plant, it was from atmospheric nuclear testing in the sixties - a lot of that testing went on in the middle of the US.

OMG what a bunch of paranoia. "radiated" LOL. Just so you know, the food you eat is "irradiated" to kill bacteria, this is an USDA and FDA approved sanitation process. And yes the radiation used is ionizing radiation - the dangerous kind that can kill you...

 

So you're concerned about your car being "radiated"???

 

This is right up there with not giving kids vaccines because of autism.

 

talk about spectacular FAIL.

 

*shakes head*

 

</rant>

 

While I agree with you, I don't really think you can use the FDA as a credible source of safety. It is possibly one of the most corrupt organizations in the country.

You have more of a chance of coming into contact with used hospital equipment that is contaminated with cesium 137 than you do of getting any serious dose from your car.

While I agree with you, I don't really think you can use the FDA as a credible source of safety. It is possibly one of the most corrupt organizations in the country.

 

If you're not deathly afraid of eating a random McDonalds, or believe what the label says on anything you might buy at a grocery, and it actually contains something edible instead of paint, lead, some other kind of poison, then it's not nearly as corrupt as you insist.

 

Maybe you grow all your own food on you farm and never eat anything produced by "the system"

 

Right.

 

/blah

If you're not deathly afraid of eating a random McDonalds, or believe what the label says on anything you might buy at a grocery, and it actually contains something edible instead of paint, lead, some other kind of poison, then it's not nearly as corrupt as you insist.

 

Maybe you grow all your own food on you farm and never eat anything produced by "the system"

 

Right.

 

/blah

 

I eat from the system just as much as anyone else... I life in a condo

 

But, while I think the the FDA could do much more to enhance the food in our country, the real corruption lies on the drug and medical device side. Pharmaceutical lobbyists essentially run the FDA. See if you can follow the contributions from the Pharmy sector to politicians. Look at the ratio of medical devices that were recalled in the past 5 years that used the 510K process for approval.

 

The new business model is to sell as much as you can, as fast as you can, even if you're product isn't 100% and settle out of court after the recall. It you've sunk 2 Billion on R&D and you can't get the product right, the best thing to do is to try to recoup your costs by selling it. If a million dollar contribution can get that done, it will be written off as a cost of doing business.

 

But... This is way off topic. I think we can agree that the cars from Japan are safe. If you don't think so, perform a test on your own for a couple of hundred bucks. This too is a cost of doing business.

So, was there ever a clear answer about the radiation levels of the Legacy?

Did you even read this thread? The consensus is pretty clear.

 

Here's an excellent graphic that can help put radiation amounts (and a small fraction of all of the different radiation sources) into perspective.

 

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

 

Spending two weeks in Fukushima immediately following the accident is equivalent to living in a brick house for a year and getting a chest x-ray. I'm pretty sure your car is fine.

Agreed. I don't think this is an issue. I recently got a Forester and haven't lost any limbs.