[ RadSafe ] Sr-90 in Maple Syrup, Ra-226 in mineral waters, Cs-137 in woodash, etc. was: Re: Re. Tritium found near VT Yankee (panic time!)

[Stewart Farber]

Fun facts on environmental radioactivity:

As far as any State Health Department or self-serving politicians in New  
England expressing concern about trivial levels of H-3 in river water,  or  
Sr-90 in fish from any river -upstream or downstream of a nuclear power  
plant, perhaps they should realize how the presence of fallout  
radioactivity in maple syrup, or Ra-226 and Ra-228 in the mineral waters  
being marketed by private companies in their States could be highlighted,  
much to the detriment of commercial endeavors ---IF one were so inclined.

Many years ago, I used to review radioactivity measured in every media  
routinely sampled [and in some media like wood-ash not sampled as part of  
REMP programs] around nuclear plants in New England including Vermont  
Yankee. There was,  and still will be measurable low-levels of Sr-90 in  
maple syrup from fallout due to nuclear bomb testing prior to the Test Ban  
Treaty in 1963-- with dose implications dwarfing by many, many orders of  
magnitude the dose consequences from any trace levels of H-3 claimed to  
have been found in the Connecticut River for example.

If trivial doses from things like H-3 in river water are an issue of  
concern to regulators or politicians given the minute doses possible,  
let's put the dose consequences of things like:

-- Sr-90 in commercial VT maple syrup due to bomb testing,
-- or Ra-226 in commercial VT bottled waters due to God & the Big Bang
-- or Cs-137 due to bomb testing [ present in 10,000 or so cubic meters of  
ash from small VT wood burning power plants] at levels up to 9,000 or so  
pCi/kg ash [300+  Bq/kg ash] being spread on home gardens and on large  
commercial organic farming co-op farms in Northeastern Vermont, on the  
table, as it were,  for honest evaluation.

It's totally amusing [on a certain level] that stores like Whole Foods  or  
other Organic food product retailers are almost consistently strongly  
anti-nuclear power, and against food irradiation but are selling Organic  
produce being fertilized with wood ash with elevated levels of Cs-137 from  
nuclear test fallout. Organic food and organic product sales is now a $27  
billion a year market in the US. How much radioactive wood ash is used as  
fertilizer in organic farming to replenish depleted potassium, and how  
would many consumers like to know woodash spread on the fields where their  
crops are grown contain elevated levels of Cs-137 [and Sr-90]? I doubt  
Organic food consumers would be terribly thrilled with knowing this fact.

How fast would VT agencies or politicians be to criticize a trivial level  
of H-3 in river water with essentially zero dose implications, or in a  
trivial amount of groundwater flowing into the CT river,  if  applying the  
same standards to commercial products in their State were put under the  
same microscope? It would be fascinating to witness politicians and  
certain State agencies scramble to minimize the significance of the above  
sources of nuclear test and natural radiation exposure from their  
commercial products if the public knew what they were consuming.

Stewart Farber, MS Public Health

Farber Medical Solutions, LLC
Bridgeport, CT 06604
SAFarber at optonline.net
203-441-8433
=====================


On Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:17:42 -0400, Fredrick L. Miller  
<millerfl at tricity.wsu.edu> wrote:

> The Vermont Department of Health would be well advised to stay upstream
> of any and all universities engaged in research within the United States
> lest they send themselves into a blind panic over this imminent public
> health menace.  Best they stick to testing syrup and making sure the
> quaint factor is turned up high enough for tourist season.
>
> Fred Miller
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Steven Dapra
> Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 7:55 PM
> To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Tritium found near VT Yankee (panic time!).
>
> Aug. 18
>
> 	The article begins:
>
> "The Vermont Department of Health said it has found detectable traces
> of radioactive tritium from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in
> the Connecticut River."
>
> 	Has anyone ever found non-detectable traces of anything,
> radioactive or not?
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/radioactive-tritium-found-river-near-vermont-yanke
> e-plant-184050307.html
>
> Steven Dapra
>
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