Image: Natalie Renier, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Posted on 10/03/2017 2:12:22 PM PDT by BenLurkin
New research published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that radioactive cesium from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is collecting in the sands and groundwater along a 60-mile (100-km) stretch of coastline near the facility. Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of cesium (a soft, silvery-gold metal) that’s formed by nuclear fission and potentially fatal to humans when exposed to high concentrations. The scientists who led the study, Virginie Sanial of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Seiya Nagao of Kanazawa University, say the levels of radiation “are not of primary concern” to public health, but that this new and unanticipated source “should be taken into account in the management of coastal areas where nuclear power plants are situated.”
Indeed, approximately half of the 440 operational nuclear reactors in the world are situated on a coastline. After the 2011 accident, scientists monitored leaking radiation as it entered into the atmosphere or trickled into rivers, but the Fukushima plant—damaged by a devastating earthquake and tsunami—is the first major incident to happen along such a large water body, namely the Pacific Ocean. This new PNAS study is now the first to consider subterranean pathways for the storage and release of radioactive contaminants following a nuclear disaster.
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The amount of radioactive waste detected by the researchers in the adjoining water is roughly equal to the amounts drifting in from the other two known sources: ongoing releases and runoff from the plant itself, and overflow from rivers that carry cesium from the fallout on land. Importantly, all three of these sources are releasing radiation at rates thousands of times smaller than what was experienced immediately after the 2011 disaster. Cesium has long half-life, so “only time will slowly remove the cesium from the sands as it naturally decays away and is washed out by seawater,”
This is a bad sign
Brings a whole new meaning to night fishing.
“Cesium has long half-life...” Can someone verify this. As I recall Douglas Macarthur wanted to salt the China-North Korea frontier with radioactive cesium to halt the entry of Chinese troops. The argument was then that cesium did not have a long half-life.
As always when scary articles like this are published they are long on speculation, vague on actual levels of radioactivity and missing recognized allowable concentration. Also we get vague references to irrelevant facts like "...approximately half of the 440 operational nuclear reactors in the world are situated on a coastline." The cesium detected is the result of a major accident not the normal operation of undamaged reactors.
Nuclear reactors are not "accidents waiting to happen" any more than Lawfully armed citizens are terrorists waiting to slaughter innocents.
http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=12058
Cesium 137 is an artificial isotope that does not exist in nature, it comes from atomic bombs and nuclear reactor meltdowns. While low doses of these products would not make someone immediately ill they can contribute to health damage and accumulate over life. Cesium 137 ingested is slowly excreted from the body but can build up as someone consumes contaminated food on a regular basis. Cesium 137 has a biological half life of 70 days. This means if you consume cesium 137, half of it has been excreted back out of your body in 70 days. The time it stays in the human body can cause cellular damage and potentially lead to cancer.
Most of the cesium 137 found in these products is assumed to come from Chernobyl based on the fact that the ones with the most contamination are known to be contaminated by Chernobyl. Places like Bulgaria and Ukraine along with parts of eastern Europe, Finland and Sweden are known to have problems with cesium 137 in certain foods. Foods such as wild mushrooms and forest berries absorb higher levels of cesium 137 than other foods. Four of the samples tested that had contamination had berries from Canada but were European brand names. Why these products were contaminated is currently not confirmed.
History shows again and again how Nature points out the folly of Man.
The Ruskies have classified their research on the effects of Chernobyl Radioactive contamination on the food supply as top secret. One tip they let slip was that root crops like potatoes, carrots, onions have much lower levels of contamination. Maybe they dont get the fallout from rain.
When you are king you must know these things.
Aren’t there areas of Scandinavia still off limits to Reindeer herding due to Cesium in the ground Lichens?
And Wild Boar in German and Eastern Europe? Contaminated from rooting for their food...
Come for the tidal waves, stay for the beautiful
cesium beaches.
Enjoy exotic glowing seafood.
You’ll love staying in this rambling traditional
Japanese house in quaint Fukushima...
Half-life is 70 years. Beta decay.
Cesium 137 is an artificial isotope that does not exist in nature, it comes from atomic bombs and nuclear reactor meltdowns. While low doses of these products would not make someone immediately ill they can contribute to health damage and accumulate over life. Cesium 137 ingested is slowly excreted from the body but can build up as someone consumes contaminated food on a regular basis. Cesium 137 has a biological half life of 70 days. This means if you consume cesium 137, half of it has been excreted back out of your body in 70 days. The time it stays in the human body can cause cellular damage and potentially lead to cancer.
Cesium 137 has a half-life of over 30 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium-137#Health_risk_of_radioactive_caesium
The biological half-life (time in the body) is 70 days.
That means that about only a tiny amount of Cesium 137 ingested will remain in the body long enough to emit radiation.
It is only considered a major risk by those who believe in the “linear, no threshold theory”, contrary to much evidence.
“It remains a substantial challenge to resolve the scientific uncertainty surrounding the current use of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model for developing radiation protection standards at low doses of radiation.”
https://atomicinsights.com/low-dose-radiation-research-program-defunded-2011/
http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/eating-radioactive-food-30-years-chernobyl/
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