[ RadSafe ] FW: Lichen / Caribou diet: was: RE: More Nuclear-News Hype High radiation level at Fukushima school, even after 'decontamination'

Sat Jul 14 15:17:31 CDT 2012

I just read the entire paper cited in my preceding post about lichen
radioecological studies. 
Interesting info from the paper:

1) While Cs-137 is tenaciously bound by lichen once picked up, the half-life
of Cs-137 body burden in caribou is only 5 to 7 weeks. So studies have shown
that very elevated levels of Cs-137 in caribou picked up in the winter
months of the mid-1960s when lichen beds were a major source of caribou diet
[in the absence of other food] during the caribou winter migrations,   would
decline rapidly after winter was over. 

2) A Lapplander was eating 5 to 6 kg of caribou meat a week in 1965 when the
study was done! That's a lot of caribou meat. Interesting diet. Almost a
kg/day of caribou meat among the Lapplander people. 

Forget Kobi beef. Give me a good caribou steak since caribou meat must be so
tasty! 

Stewart Farber

========================

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Stewart Farber
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 3:26 PM
To: 'The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List'
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Lichen: was: RE: More Nuclear-News Hype High radiation
level at Fukushima school, even after 'decontamination'

A bit of relevant history about Lichen and atmospheric fallout of Cs-137.

Lichen makes a very interesting sampling media which shows the unique
ability to greatly concentrate Cs-137 in fallout. It is basically a filter,
concentrating fallout.  This issue was studied in great detail during the
peak levels of atmospheric fallout observed from open air nuclear weapons
testing around 1965. See the reference below:

Hanson, Health Physics Society Journal, April 1967 - Volume 13 - Issue 4,
Cesium-137 in Alaskan Lichens, Caribou and Eskimos

Levels of Cs-137 were measured up to 100 pCi/gram dried lichen in Alaska in
1965. This equates to 100,000 pCi/kg dried lichen. This was in some samples
of lichen sampled from locations that had Cs-137 deposition of about 50,000
pCi/square meter.

The number claimed in the cited report from Japan near Fukushima was a bit
less than 1,000,000 Bq/kg, or 37,000,000 pCi/kg dried lichen. Anti-nuclear
activists/scaremongers always want to make any measured activity look bigger
to their target audience [other anti-nukes, media, legislators,  and many
members of the public]  by stating any measured activity [which may be
accurate in this case] in terms of activity/kg of media which multiplies any
measured value by 1,000 vs. reporting activity/gram which is appropriate to
a media like lichen.

37,000,000 pCi/kg lichen as claimed in Japan would be about 37 times higher
than the 100,000 pCi/kg of lichen at peak fallout levels measured in Alaska
in 1965 [and across the the northernmost areas like Sweden, Norway, and
Finland where there is a lot of lichen]. The elevated levels of Cs-137 in
lichen in the 1960s in many areas of the far North presented an interesting
case because caribou there eat large amounts of lichen. In places like
Lapland [the region comprised of near Arctic regions of Norway, Sweden, and
Finland occupied by the indigenous Laplanders or Sami people] caribou was a
major food source for these indiginous Laplanders,  as they are called who
showed very elevated body burdens of Cs-137 during the 1960s which declined
over time.

Could the airborne deposition of Cs-137 in isolated areas of Japan be 37
times higher than the generalized areal deposition in Alaska in 1965 from
bomb fallout? Seems reasonable. However, I don't have the data at hand, and
have wasted enough time today.   Does 37E6 pCi Cs-137/kg dried lichen mean
anything other than lichen is an interesting sampling media? Doesn't appear
to be a concern in Japan, even if true ---UNLESS large numbers of caribou
are wandering around Japan near Fukushima eating large amounts of lichen as
a major source of their food, and people in Japan are eating caribou as a
large fraction of their diet! Seems unlikely. Have any caribou been reported
in Japan of late?

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

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Roger Helbig
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 6:47 AM
To: RADSAFE
Subject: [ RadSafe ] More Nuclear-News Hype High radiation level at
Fukushima school, even after 'decontamination'

This level of Cesium contamination seems unusally high like someone misread
or just misreported a meter reading.  They are also claiming high number of
birth defects at Fukushima hospital.  They should perhaps check with the
Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hirsoshima/Nagasaki before taking a
page from the Iraqi propagandists in Fallujah.

Roger Helbig

---------- Forwarded message ----------
New post on nuclear-news

High radiation level at Fukushima school, even after 'decontamination'

by Christina MacPherson

1,000,000 Bq/kg of cesium detected at Fukushima school. after being
'decontaminated' - "It's obvious they will just leave it" - Local
Official y 13th, 2012   By ENENews  July 11, 2012 post by Koichi
Oyama, Minamisoma city council member, translated by Dissensus Japan:

1.000.000 Bq detected in a school after a decontamination conducted!

A University's research team collected lichen at the entrance of the
gymnastic hall of a school that restarted after a decontamination operation,
and the sample measured the Cesium radiation level, 989.000 Bq/Kg.

It's obvious they will just leave it. I told them my ideas at least, but I'm
not sure if this inspired them to do anything. No one makes decision to get
rid of dangers.
I want to believe that at least "school principal" won't leave the danger at
the place where students walk by. I would go there tomorrow
to make sure.   Read the report here

Christina MacPherson | July 14, 2012 at 6:03 am | Categories:
environment, Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | URL:
http://wp.me/phgse-6Gb

http://nuclear-news.net/2012/07/14/high-radiation-level-at-fukushima-school-
even-after-decontamination/
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