[ RadSafe ] BBC article: "Chernpobyl's legacy recorded in trees"

[Jim Darrough]

I wonder if it has something to do with the uptake of elements deposited
into the soil after the plume settled, rather than an actual mutation.
Sometimes things get "read into" a result like this without thinking about
the actual mechanism that could have caused it.

As you say, though, regardless of the reason for the color changes, more
study is definitely warranted.

James E. Darrough

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Brennan, Mike
(DOH)
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 9:29 AM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) MailingList
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] BBC article: "Chernpobyl's legacy recorded in
trees"

I certainly think this is a field worthy of future research.

It would be interesting to find out what cause the color change, and if the
growth rate before and after were significantly different.  I do admit to
being a little skeptical that the color change is due to genetic mutation,
as that would imply that a number of trees exposed to radiation had the same
mutation triggered in all of the growing cells the entire length and
completely around each tree.  From something as random as radiation, I would
expect something less symmetric.

The trees with the unusual growth patterns are more along the lines of what
I would expect, though then it becomes a statistics game, as I have seen the
occasional tree like that in areas not impacted by massive fallout.  

Still, interesting, and worthy of more work.  

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dimiter Popoff
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 8:39 AM
To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] BBC article: "Chernpobyl's legacy recorded in
trees"

> It'd be interesting to get a thin (1") or so slice across the trunk 
>and do an autoradiograph to see if there is distributed radioactive 
>material in the wood,

Yes, and some spectra of samples at a few depths of interest would likely
also be very telling.

Dimiter

>From: "Rees, Brian G" <brees at lanl.gov>
>To: <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
>Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2013 15:21:44 +0000
>Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] BBC article: "Chernpobyl's legacy recorded in
trees"
>
> I remember that hair of people with high exposures grows back coarser,

>and sometimes a slightly different color.  It sounds like it might be
related.
>   It'd be interesting to get a thin (1") or so slice across the trunk 
>and do an autoradiograph to see if there is distributed radioactive 
>material in the wood, or just at the "event horizon"....
>
>Brian Rees
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
>[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dimiter 
>Popoff
>Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 10:01 AM
>To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
>Subject: [ RadSafe ] BBC article: "Chernpobyl's legacy recorded in
trees"
>
>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23619870
>
>The photo shows a distinct change of colour which as I get it matches 
>the accident date.
>But it looks very distinct. I wonder how did they determine the cause 
>was radiation and not some chemistry thing, perhaps/probably also 
>related to the accident.
>
>Dimiter
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------
>Dimiter Popoff               Transgalactic Instruments
>
>http://www.tgi-sci.com
>------------------------------------------------------
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/didi_tgi/sets/72157600228621276/
>
>

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