Japan Nuclear Radiation Situation
It is easy and probably natural to wince or even panic a little when you hear about radiation leaks and levels at Fukushima and its surrounding area, but it is important to understand just what was leaked and how much. Unfortunately, this information has been elusive, as most information is coming from the Japanese government (which is apparently known as forthcoming in normal times). Basically, spent fuel (irradiated) from the reactor has to be stored in pools for cooling for about one to three years. Following the quake and tsunami, the explosions at the plant left the cooling system for this pool in shambles. The race to cool the pool was the focus of much of this crisis, as a failure to keep the irradiated, spent fuel cool would result in overheating, meltdown and possible release of large amounts of radioactive materials. However, recent reports have noted the leaked radiation from the plant was dominated by iodine-131. This isotope has a half-life of around eight days, and is short-lived. This also indicates the leaks from the plant weren’t likely from this spent fuel, as this isotope isn’t usually present in the spent fuel.
Every one to two years, the reactor fuel (which is not irradiated when it goes in, but becomes so as a consequence of the reactions) must be replaced. It is likely the iodine-131 came from this reactor supply.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a wide area around the Fukishima plant is experiencing levels of radiation that are much higher than normal background radiation—the Earth’s air is normally filled with some level of radiation that occurs naturally—but given the dominance of iodine-131 isotope in this leak, the decay should be fairly rapid.
Continued Tomorrow:
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/2011/03/radiating-fears.aspx
http://www.depsyl.com/
http://back2basicnutrition.com/
http://bionutritionalresearch.olhblogspace.com/
Sunday, April 3, 2011
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