[ RadSafe ] Radioactive contamination of the ocean

Fri Apr 1 09:16:24 CDT 2011

Hi Arvic: <On a slightly different note, can somebody explain why La-140 and Ba-140 are not in equilibrium

Different chemistry possibly?  La will settle out on particulates, whereas barium is more soluble at seawater pH.

Keith Bradshaw

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Arvic Harms
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 3:08 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Radioactive contamination of the ocean

Dear all,

On a slightly different note, can somebody explain why La-140 and Ba-140 are not in equilibrium after three weeks in results published by TEPCO.
For instance, a few days ago on 30 March the La-140/Ba-140 ratio in seawater appears to be 0.34, which indicate a decay time of just 1.0
day, not 19 days.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110331e
10.pdf

It may be chemical fractionation, but it could also indicate something else. There are some reports on the presence of short-lived Cl-38, which may indicate that nuclear chain reactions continue after shut-down:

http://japanfocus.org/-Arjun-Makhijani/3509

http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2011/04/fukushima_update_did
_nuclear_c.html

Kind regards,

Arvic Harms

Dr Arvic Harms
Radioactivity Group
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road
Teddington TW11 0LW
Middlesex
United Kingdom

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Terry
Sent: 31 March 2011 13:36
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Radioactive contamination of the ocean

Again. I am warning you to watch the language. You won't get another warning.

Jeff

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 30, 2011, at 10:31 AM, shima <shima at piments.com> wrote:

> On 30/03/11 13:47, Busby Chris wrote:
>> But it does not work like that. That is what Dunster said in 1957
about Sellafield. But it was wrong. The radionuclides bind to the intertidal sediment and become resuspended and come ashore in the air due to sea-to-land transfer, a phenomenon that is well described and measured. This results in excess cancer risk in coastal communities. For example, the leukemia rates in children are highest in the coastal communities near the Millstone reactor; plesty of other examoples especially Sellafield.
>> Chris Busby
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: radsafe-bounces at agni.phys.iit.edu on behalf of Jerry Cohen
>> Sent: Mon 28/03/2011 23:01
>> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing
List
>> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Radioactive contamination  of the ocean
>>
>> In todays news, we see alarming stories of radioactive contamination
found in
>> ocean waters near Japan. In a previous post, I cited the tendency of
people to
>> equate detectability with hazard, and our capability to readily
detect
>> radioactivity in miniscule concentrations.
>> The capacity of the ocean to dilute any contaminant is almost
infinite. It can
>> readily be calculated that any amount of radioactivity released to
the ocean
>> will be diluted to innocuous levels in a relatively short time. All
of the
>> nuclear waste conceivably produced by the most ambitious nuclear
power
>> production in the world would pose no significant health hazard if
dispersed in
>> the world's oceans  compared to the natural radioactivity (U, Ra,
K-40, etc)
>> that nature has already placed in the ocean. Actually, as I have
previously
>> discussed on radsafe, oceanic disposal is our best bet for disposal
of
>> all radioactive waste.
>> Unfortunately, politics and hysteria will always trump science.
>>
>> Jerry Cohen
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>
>
> Hi,
>
> stating infinite dilution like that is to be deliberately, naively
simplistic.
>
> sediments drop , enter  esturary mud flats, sea bottom etc. and enter
the food chain. To pretend otherwise is dishonest or self-delusional at best.
>
> A team at Manchester Univ. in the 60's bought fish on the quay at a
village near Sellafield and analysed it . Not only was it not edible , it was sufficiently radioactive that they were legally obliged to disposed of it as low-level radioactive waste.
>
> Much of the fisheries around Fukupshima and NE Japan will soon be in a
similar or worse state.
>
> Flushing the contamination into the Pacific may only be the best of a
very short list of very bad options.
>
> :(
>
> Looks like our little Nuclear Boy has just shit himself again, and
mummy's going to wash his deipers in the village well.
> _______________________________________________
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> Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and
understood the RadSafe rules. These can be found at:
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