[ RadSafe ] Radioactive contamination of the ocean

[shima]

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
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
>
> Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood the RadSafe rules. These can be found at: http://health.phys.iit.edu/radsaferules.html
>
> For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings visit: http://health.phys.iit.edu
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
>
> Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood the RadSafe rules. These can be found at: http://health.phys.iit.edu/radsaferules.html
>
> For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings visit: http://health.phys.iit.edu
>


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.