Monday, June 27, 2016

Cesium Nanoparticles from Fukushima Persist in Environment, May Pose Additional Risks


PhysOrg has a report on findings presented at a recent conference by Dr. Utsunomiya of Japan, who found persistent cesium nanoparticles. He observed that these nanoparticles may pose additional risks because of their durability. 

Prof. Bernd Grambow, Director of SUBATECH laboratory, Nantes, France and leader of the research group on interfacial reaction field chemistry of the ASRC/JAEA, Tokai, Japan, agreed with this conclusion and is quoted in the article as stating that the nanoparticles have implications for how inhalation doses for humans are assessed because the "biological half- lives of insoluble caesium particles might be much larger than that of soluble caesium...."

Here is a brief synopsis of the article:

Radioactive cesium fallout on Tokyo from Fukushima concentrated in glass microparticles

June 27, 2016


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-06-radioactive-cesium-fallout-tokyo-fukushima.html#jCp


Analysis from several air filters collected in Tokyo on 15 March 2011 showed that 89% of the total radioactivity was present as a result of these caesium-rich microparticles, rather than the soluble Cs, as had originally been supposed. (June 27, 2016). PhysOrg, http://phys.org/news/2016-06-radioactive-cesium-fallout-tokyo-fukushima.html

According to Dr Satoshi Utsunomiya: "This work changes some of our assumptions about the Fukushima fallout. It looks like the clean-up procedure, which consisted of washing and removal of top soils, was the correct thing to do. However, the concentration of radioactive caesium in microparticles means that, at an extremely localised and focused level, the radioactive fallout may have been more (or less) concentrated than anticipated. This may mean that our ideas of the health implications should be modified"...

Radioactive cesium is still being regularly detected in Japan by citizen scientists who are sampling their communities and their food:

Masakazu Honda. May 6, 2016. 30 groups show radioactive soil levels to address Fukushima fears. The Asahi Shimbunbhttp://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605060006.html

A coalition of 30 private groups is digging deeper into radiation contamination from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster to address persistent concerns from the public around Japan….

...The highest reading so far was 135,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium detected in a forest near a home in the Hiso district of Iitate village, northwest of the embattled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The soil sample showed 111,028 becquerels of cesium-137 and 23,920 becquerels of cesium-134.

Radioactivity readings at many observation spots in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is far from the nuclear plant, were below the lowest detectable level.

But the survey this year still found sites in the Kanto region, south of the Tohoku region where the Fukushima plant is located, with readings exceeding 10,000 becquerels.

Cesium bioaccumulates in organs, as demonstrated by monkeys in Japan who have retained radioactive cesium in muscle tissue:

Bahar Gholipour Fukushima monkeys show signs of radiation exposure Livescience.com July 24, 2014, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fukushima-monkeys-blood-shows-signs-of-radiation-exposure/

The results showed Fukushima monkeys had lower counts of red and white blood cells, and other blood parts compared with 31 monkeys from Shimokita Penisula in northern Japan. The researchers also found radioactive cesium in the muscles of Fukushima monkeys, ranging from 78 to 1778 becquerels (units of radioactivity representing decay per second) per kilogram, but they didn't find any in Shimokita monkeys. [7 Craziest Ways Japan's Earthquake Affected Earth] Exposure to radioactive materials may have contributed to the blood changes seen in Fukushima monkeys, study researchers Shin-ichi Hayama and colleagues wrote in their study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports. Low blood cell counts could be a sign of a compromised immune system and could potentially make the monkeys vulnerable to infectious diseases, the researchers said.
Here is the relevant academic publication and an excerpt from the abstract, that describes cesium concentrations:
Kazuhiko Ochiai , Shin-ichi Hayama , Sachie Nakiri et al "Low blood cell counts in wild Japanese monkeys after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster,"Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 5793 (2014) doi:10.1038/srep05793, http://www.nature.com/articles/srep05793

[excerpted] Total muscle cesium concentration in Fukushima monkeys was in the range of 78–1778 Bq/kg, whereas the level of cesium was below the detection limit in all Shimokita monkeys. Compared with Shimokita monkeys, Fukushima monkeys had significantly low white and red blood cell counts, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, and the white blood cell count in immature monkeys showed a significant negative correlation with muscle cesium concentration. These results suggest that the exposure to some form of radioactive material contributed to hematological changes in Fukushima monkeys.
The study in Scientific Reports detected cesium levels ranging from 78-1778 Bq/kg in monkey muscle while the poop measured by nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen's colleague measured 50,000 Bq/kg. (see Gundersen's interview here).

The Fukushima disaster has contaminated Japan with over 1,000 genotoxic radionuclides. Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 are simply among the easiest to measure. 

And the contamination processes are not over yet:






New research shows that most of the radioactive fallout which landed on downtown Tokyo a few days after the Fukushima accident was concentrated and deposited in non-soluble glass microparticles, as a type of 'glassy soot'. This meant that most of the radioactive material was not dissolved in rain and running water, and probably stayed in the environment until removed by direct washing or physical removal. The particles also concentrated the radioactive caesium (Cs), meaning that in some cases dose effects of the fallout are still unclear. These results are announced at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-06-radioactive-cesium-fallout-tokyo-fukushima.html#jCp
New research shows that most of the radioactive fallout which landed on downtown Tokyo a few days after the Fukushima accident was concentrated and deposited in non-soluble glass microparticles, as a type of 'glassy soot'. This meant that most of the radioactive material was not dissolved in rain and running water, and probably stayed in the environment until removed by direct washing or physical removal. The particles also concentrated the radioactive caesium (Cs), meaning that in some cases dose effects of the fallout are still unclear. These results are announced at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-06-radioactive-cesium-fallout-tokyo-fukushima.html#jCp
New research shows that most of the radioactive fallout which landed on downtown Tokyo a few days after the Fukushima accident was concentrated and deposited in non-soluble glass microparticles, as a type of 'glassy soot'. This meant that most of the radioactive material was not dissolved in rain and running water, and probably stayed in the environment until removed by direct washing or physical removal. The particles also concentrated the radioactive caesium (Cs), meaning that in some cases dose effects of the fallout are still unclear. These results are announced at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-06-radioactive-cesium-fallout-tokyo-fukushima.html#jCp

12 comments:

  1. If there is enough radiatioactive cesium, concentrated in an area, many chemical moieties and many sized clumps and smaller moieties of radioactive cesium will be present. Nano particles are a fad now because, they can be exploited for industrial purposes.
    Corporate financed and government contract  academia likes to focus on nano particles to sound knowledgeable and show they are not wasting the money of the corrupt academic masters.
    So called researchers don't get money to study how much radioactive cesium is really poisoning everyone in Fukushima and Tokyo.

    Radioactive cesium emits heat from decay. It is what heats the nuclear waste tanks at Hanford and evaporate the water in the tanks till the tanks start cracking and leaking from too much overheating and corrosion.

    Radioactive cesium is incredibly toxic whether it forms salts with other chemicals in the environment or clumps into macro, micro, and nano-particles.
    Too me the obfuscations and side stepping such issues is appalling.

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  2. There have been few or no studies of the chemical, physical, and biological disposition of radioactive cesium from the Chernobyl and Fukushima catastrophes in the environment.

    Radioactive cesium likely biocumulates in organisms in third spaces, muscle and bone and stays there far longer than the propaganda we have been fed.

    According to bandazhevskys and millers studies when radioactive cesium reaches 40 bqs and is constantly magnified and dispersed in the soil, pavement, concrete, food etc for a few years, one can get 10 bq per kg in their body. 10bq/kg is known to cause heart damage. That's why 85 percent of the kids in Belarus have heart defects.

    There is likely to be a dozen or more ore 100s of times more radioactive cesium in north and central Japan than Belarus. That is based on the fact that six 600 tons or more of radioisotopes were released into the environment by the initial Fukushima catastrophe's explosions, pool fires, and melted cores. There is more radioactive coming from the melted cores.

    It is good that somebody is studying disposition of radioactive cesium but, fancy buckyball theories and nanoparticle assertions only account for a fraction of the radioactive cesium in the environment in Japan.

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  3. Buckyball assertions only account for a fraction of the uranium . sorry. Some industrial scientist will probably isolate buckballs of other radioisotopes too. Its all so mindless and banal. That's how we got conned into accepting the brutal idiocy of using fissioning radionucleides to generate steam to make electricity and atoms for peace. Technology my ass. Solar. Now that is technology.

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  4. How long before Japan becomes uninhabitable even if no more nuclear reactors break down? That is about the only relevant question at this point. The studies are really unnecessary now as the place is like a building on fire. We know it will burn down and can not be put out for there is no water to put it out. Some people with money can escape; the rest will perish. Japan will be a memory.

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  5. I'm sorry for being mean to you William. Trump is another pronuclear monster. You are eloquent at times

    We can't take much more radionucleide load in this country or we we will be like Japan. A nuclear power plant going up can be worse than a nuclear war only more insidious.

    If Japan keeps npps open and opens more npps, gets more nuclear weapons and another catastrophic chain reaction ensues, it will be like belarus here .

    Each npp has has the radiinucleide equivalent of thousands of nuclear bombs. The same will happen with more nuclear proliferation. They need nuclear reactors with tons if fissioning radionucleides refined from thousands of ton's of nuclear waste to make one bomb.

    Nuclear proliferation is a grave mistake. Many parts of this world are reaching a dangerous point of no return with the loads of radionuckeides in their life support systems. We have lived with it building up for 70 years.

    There simply are not any more deals with the devil left for us. We have been strung along with deals with the devil for 70 years

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    Replies
    1. I hate to say this but the the war mongers know thare are much more effective ways of destroying an enemy than nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear war are the psychotic manifestations of a demented dying species

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    2. Do you really think Hilary will be a better alternative? America just does not produce outstanding leaders. Trump may be flawed but less so than Hilary or Bush or Cruz . . .I have not voted for a president since 1984 and then for Mondale. However, I believe Trump is capable of changing his mind. A lot will depend on advisers. My intuition is that he will win in November and open a new and hopefully better chapter for this nation. Obama is creating as much chaos as he can while he still has power. Immigrants with all sorts of disease are now streaming into the nation. This alone will create innumerable problems. Currently the Obama administration views nuclear power as clean energy because it does not produce carbon dioxide! And the science on climate change has been corrupted seriously.

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  6. I will not vote for Hillary or trump fool. I will vote for antinuclear. Why do you persist in partison politicking here. You are a sick dude. Go do some research and learn something substantive about nuclear death near you. Help children around you. Divest of investments in nuclear as I have. Comment about epa standards. Beating the drum for a pronuclear monster only shows your insincerity and meanness

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  7. Our political system is terribly broken. As bad as japans in many ways.If if one is trapped by ideology one can find an antinuclear person of an ideology they are partial too because nuclear is so insane. Find someone of your ideological leanings   who is truly antinuclear to vote for or write in.
    I am not a maoist I am not a rand clone. I am not a republican or democrat. Antinuclear is a critical issue now.

    It goes beyond partisan and secondary issues silly people like William throw out at us, though he tries to sound so knowledgeable. I apologized to you William. Now I am forced to backtrack. There is something very strange about you. Someone apologizes and you try to divert from the subject of nuclear with things I am not talking about. obfuscations using
    hotbutton issues. If you were real or had a heart you would not pander here. You would do something to help teach people and children about nuclear and not post sensationalist irrational conspiracy theories about people continuing to generate earthquakes in kyushu and japan. Japan is one of the most earthquake ridden places on the planet and people want to put nuclear arms, build more nuclear facilities there . Abe fights tooth and nail to close nuclear power plants there and wants to open more. Abe is an acolyte of obama Clinton and trump. Why don't you invest in solar energy william and increase your wealth! Why not post some valuable links or information about nuclear dangers and what people can do about it. If you had family in japan or got sick here you would be more active. Instead you choose to beat the drums of partisan politics.

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    Replies
    1. Excuse me Abe fights tooth and nail to open nuclear power plants in japan

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  8. The largest byproducts of fuel rods burning would be elemental radioactive cesium and strontium 90. Similar for a nuclear explosion and fire like at sellafield and Chernobyl. Its is also a major byproduct of fissioning which accounts for its presence in used nuclear file rods.

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