Posted on 09/30/2011 5:08:00 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Plutonium detected 45 kilometers from nuke plant
Small amounts of plutonium have been detected in samples of soil taken at locations including a spot 45 kilometers away from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This is the first time that the government has detected plutonium outside the nuclear plant since the accident.
The science ministry announced on Friday that the plutonium was detected in samples taken from 6 locations in the towns of Futaba and Namie, and Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture --- all located northwest of the nuclear plant. The radioactive substance is believed to have been released by the nuclear plant after the disaster.
The ministry says the samples taken from a location in Iitate, farthest among the 6, contained 0.82 becquerels per square meter of plutonium-238 and a total of 2.5 becquerels of plutonium-239 and -240.
The ministry had collected soil samples at 100 locations within an 80-kilometer radius of the plant in June and July.
Experts say that if plutonium is inhaled or ingested, it remains in the body for a long time and can cause cancer.
But ministry officials say that possible exposure to the detected plutonium is believed to be very low.
In June, university researchers detected smaller amounts of plutonium in soil outside the plant after they collected samples during filming by NHK.
Friday, September 30, 2011 21:14 +0900 (JST)
P!
Only 45 kilometers? According to the predictions of some of our more hysterical Freepers back in May, we should be finding plutonium in our corn flakes by now.
By God man, this will undoubtedly awake Godzilla yet again.
We probably do have some in our corn flakes.
From the 1950s atmospheric bomb tests.
Somehow I’ve managed to live another 55 yrs despite the toxicity, LOL.
And giant slime eels! Yuk!
Its also possible it was there before the problem. They’ll need to test it to make sure.
Here’s a quote re distribution of plutonium taken from a news article posted in the comments section here: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/09/ministry-of-education-admits-to.html#comments
“The radioactive substance may have been carried by vapor or fine particles from the nuclear plant, said an official of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant.”
According to reports I’ve read we all have stuff from those bombs in our bodies.
I don't think the reactor blew up and that's certainly not how the plutonium dispersed. Chernobyl spread plutonium over parts of Europe also by fire. In the case of Fukushima, the holding pond fuel burned.
The average human experiences 4400 becquerels from decaying potassium-40 within the body.
Don’t worry too much about a minute amount of Plutonium 239 in the dirt in your garden.
Maybe NASA can start collecting it from Japan?
But first pay a visit to your favorite bar in town. At closing time you need to walk three blocks down 10th to P.
Sacramento joke, but it probably works in many cities.
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