[ 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!)

Wed Sep 14 17:43:41 CDT 2011

Vermont maple syrup is still as welcome in my pantry as home-grown 
Ontario or Quebec. I think the whole "organic" food craze will  turn 
out to be one of the biggest frauds of the 21st century.

Lots of maple syrup on tomorrow's pancakes!

Mike

ps - On a serious note, did any employees receive excessive doses as 
a result of the furnace explosion at the France nuclear-waste 
processing plant?

At 06:27 PM 14/09/2011, you wrote:
>Excellent, as usual.
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Neill Stanford, CHP
>Stanford Dosimetry, LLC
>360 733 7367
>360 933 1794 (fax)
>www.stanforddosimetry.com
>stanford at stanforddosimetry.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Stewart Farber [mailto:SAFarber at optonline.net]
>Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 12:29 PM
>To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
>Subject: [ 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!)
>
>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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>
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Michael Laotian, P. Phys.  