Watching the news reports of the continuing problems with the Fukishima reactors in Japan has started to remind me of the hysteria surrounding the Anthrax attacks of about a decade ago. I’m not downplaying the threat in Japan or the fact that several people became sick and some died from contracting Anthrax. Both are serious situations which the media overhyped the crap out of in their endless quest to use hysteria to drive up ratings and sell more laundry detergent.

Watching Good Morning America this morning, I saw segments on the current threat in Japan, as well as the potential threat to the US. Then a segment on preparing for fallout in the US. Not a lot of factual information in any of those segments, just as ten years ago there wasn’t a lot of factual information about Anthrax.

What happened in 2001 and early 2002 was hysteria driven calls to 9-1-1. Every person that called swore that they had been exposed to Anthrax, targeted specifically at them for reasons known only to them.

As a result police, EMS, and Hazmat teams were run ragged responding to these calls. Perimeters were set, the Hazmat guys suited up, the patients were decontaminated, and EMS ended up transporting asymptomatic patients to various hospitals for the dreaded “evaluation”. Dreaded by EMS because it tied up resources for no apparent reason.

One person called 9-1-1 because there was white power on his shower curtain. Apparently he forgot that his wife used baby powder after her shower.

One woman called 9-1-1 because there was white powder in the bottom of an empty box. Of Frosted Flakes.

Not to mention empty donut boxes. Those generated a lot of calls too.

Any sighting of white powder anywhere was likely to generate a 9-1-1 call and an emergency response.

The hysteria went on for weeks or months all across the USA.

And now I fear that we are going to see an influx of 9-1-1 calls from people who will insist that are suffering from radiation poisoning or illness. They will demand that we take them to the hospital so that they can be “evaluated” for the symptoms. Every one of which they picked up from watching TV news or even worse searching the Internet. None of whom will be the least bit sick. Which won’t deter them from calling 9-1-1 again in a day or so when Google or TV news reports on a new set of symptoms about which they can complain.

Oh it’s going to be an exciting few weeks.

It used to be just cheesy soap operas that induced people to call 9-1-1 with imaginary illnesses, but thanks to Al Gore and his Internet, now people can check their symptoms on line 24 hours a day. Then they can use their iPhones to call 9-1-1 or their primary care physicians and add more patients to an already over loaded medical system.

Isn’t progress wonderful?