Just after 3:23 in [this TED Radio Hour segment](http://www.npr.org/2016/10/21/497837955/what-can-we-learn-from-one-of-the-world-s-most-toxic-accidents), featured guest Holly Morris makes the claim that "the older you are, the less detrimental the effects of radiation is." The context is in why explaining older people were allowed to return to their homes near Chernobyl following the nuclear accident. Is it true that the elderly are less sensitive to ionizing radiation than younger people, and that detrimental effects of ionizing radiation decrease with age? 

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Note: The [original TED talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/holly_morris_why_stay_in_chernobyl_because_it_s_home/transcript?language=en) (2:11-2:34) indicates these people returned illegally, in defiance of authorities, while the later radio program claims the women "were allowed back into the area," and this age explanation is given as to why they were allowed to return, contrasted with young people who were not allowed to return (radio 3:34).
['https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/38645', 'https://skeptics.stackexchange.com', 'https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/users/27319/']
According to the [Third Reich in Ruins](http://www.thirdreichruins.com/auschwitz.htm), the below photo of the pool was obtained from [Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum](http://www.auschwitz.org/). The site says: 

> 
> This water tank was built as a reservoir for fire fighting purposes (there are several such fire fighting tanks around the Birkenau camp and the Auschwitz Erweiterungslager camp extension), but it was modified by the prisoner fire brigade into a swimming pool, complete with a diving board and starting blocks. Privileged Polish and other political prisoners (non-Jewish), in addition to the fire brigade, could use this pool.
> 
> 
> 

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/W6gZ9.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/W6gZ9.jpg)
> 
> Is it a "fire brigade reservoir", which I assume has something to do with fire safety although I don't know exactly what this means or why they would need it?
> 
> 
> 

A fire brigade reservoir is a [supply of water](http://www.firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-9/issue-3/firefighting-operations/obtaining-water-without-a-hydrant.html) that can be pumped at a fire. They are often used in places where [fire hydrants are not available](http://www.bcfpd.org/index.php/faq/put-fires-no-fire-hydrants) or are insufficient to meet the demand. For example, where people get their water from a well rather than a municipal source. 

As a practical matter, almost any water can be used (although some may be easier to use). So if that was something that collected water, it could be a fire brigade reservoir. That is true even if it was also used as a swimming pool. 

My point being that it being a fire brigade reservoir would not prevent it from being a swimming pool. Or vice versa. They are not mutually exclusive uses. 

In regards to whether this particular water was actually a swimming pool, I have nothing to add to the [other answer](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/38643/30596). 

Additional sources: 

* [Quora](https://www.quora.com/In-neighborhoods-lacking-fire-hydrants-what-do-fire-departments-use-as-water-sources-when-dealing-with-fires)
* [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/notes/eastern-panhandle-working-fires/what-if-there-is-not-a-fire-hydrant-nearby-where-i-live/540193675999432/)