[ RadSafe ] Fallout from atmospheric testing

[Dennis Quinn]

The following is from Table 9-2 from Environmental Radioactivity (Eisenbud &
Gessell, 1997)

It shows that Sr-90 and Cs-137 are of the same order of magnitude, and
Cs-137 has a yield about 1.6 times Sr-90.

Keep in mind that in a nuclear weapon, the nuclides are immediately
available to the atmosphere after creation,

while at Fukushima, the fuel releases the nuclides at different rates.  In
general, Cs-137 is relatively easily released,

and the strontium isotopes are only released in significant quantities after
fuel melt.

 

	
						

Approx. Yields per Megaton of Fission

	

Nuclide

Half-Life

MegaCuries

 

		

Sr-89

53 days

20.0

 

		

Sr-90

28 yr

0.10

 

		

Zr-95

65 days

25.0

 

		

Ru-103

40 days

18.5

 

		

Ru-106

1 yr

0.29

 

		

I-131

8 days

125.0

 

		

Cs-137

30 yr

0.16

 

		

Ce-131

1 yr

39.0

 

		

Ce-144

33 days

3.7

 

		

Total 

	231.75

			

 

 

Dennis Quinn, CHP

DAQ, Inc.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Steven Dapra
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:57 PM
To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Fallout from atmospheric testing

 

July 12

 

      What percentage of fallout from atmospheric testing was Cs-137, and 

what percentage was Sr-90?

 

Steven Dapra

 

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