[ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 1445, Issue 1

Mon Nov 18 12:46:30 CST 2013

Thanks Mike. That does help clarify to me what is involved. I was hoping to
provide a response to people who have seen reports of seawater being
affected by Fukushima.

The wikipedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

"On 24 May 2012, more than a year after the disaster, TEPCO released their
estimate of radiation releases due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Disaster. An estimated 538,100 terabecquerels (TBq) of iodine-131,
caesium-134 and caesium-137 was released. 520,000 TBq was released into the
atmosphere between 12 to 31 March 2011 and 18,100 TBq into the ocean from
26 March to 30 September 2011. A total of 511,000 TBq of iodine-131 was
released into both the atmosphere and the ocean, 13,500 TBq of caesium-134
and 13,600 TBq of
caesium-137.[55]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#cite_note-55>
In
May 2012, TEPCO reported that at least 900 PBq had been released "into the
atmosphere in March last year [2011]
alone"[56]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#cite_note-56>
[57]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#cite_note-57>
up
from previous estimates of 360-370 PBq total."

I think you see the problem. They are using the numbers as quantity rather
than rates. I am assuming we should be saying "per kilogram" after each of
the amounts mentioned. I think the article needs to be corrected and that
what has been reported needs fixing so the numbers make sense. We would
need to know how many grams of each element was released to understand the
meaning of the numbers. Am I correct?

It is unfortunate that this is rarely explained. If the quantities released
are less than a kilogram then the figures are very misleading. The general
public does not see it as a rate. But the article gets it right in several
other places where they say "per kilogram"

Do I have this correct?

> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Re: RadSafe Digest, Vol 1444, Issue 1 (Rick Maltese)
>    2. Re: RadSafe Digest, Vol 1444, Issue 1 (Brennan, Mike  (DOH))
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 02:01:52 -0500
> From: Rick Maltese <malteserick at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 1444, Issue 1
> To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
> Message-ID:
>         <CAPpaKi5Xq-XA--tWV_1YFznzrSfrnnYT=iu1oL5Suet5=
> qsqJQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Can anyone help me put together a paragraph that explains Becquerels to the
> layman. I am creating a document to help explain radiation. Especially in
> relation to scary media about Fukushima. You can take a look at what I've
> got so far.
>
>
>
> http://deregulatetheatom.com/reference/radiation/quick-radiation-reference-guide/
>
>
> If there is also a graphic I would be very grateful.
>
>
> Rick Maltese
> 647-379-9655
>
> webcompose.ca  webdesign services
>
> leadsheetz.com  music services - transposing, composing, teaching etc
>
> rickmaltesemusic.com  piano gig page
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 09:43:13 -0800
> From: "Brennan, Mike  (DOH)" <Mike.Brennan at DOH.WA.GOV>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 1444, Issue 1
> To: "The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics)
>         MailingList"    <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Message-ID:
>         <37C41083D3480E4BBB478317773B845D0D5CE6B3 at dohmxtum31.doh.wa.lcl>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> How is this:
>
> Radioactive material is radioactive because atoms change, or "decay",
> from one element into another.  The unit for measuring this decay in the
> International System of Units (SI, or what most Americans think of as
> "metric") is the Becquerel (Bq).  One Becquerel is equal to one decay
> per second.  Because we are often interested in amounts of radioactivity
> much larger than that, we use the standard set of prefixes (mega-,
> giga-, etc.) when talking about activity.
>
> There are a couple of things to keep in mind when talking about
> activity, in Bq or other units, because they work differently than, say,
> miles per hour or pounds per square inch.  One is that the instruments
> used to measure activity usually can measure only certain types, and
> only certain energies of radiation.  Even for the type and energy it can
> measure it only measures the radiation that hits the detector (and not
> the radiation that goes in other directions), and only a portion of
> that.  It is important to know what material is being measured, and how
> it is being measured.
>
> Another thing to keep in mind is that when an atom decays and changes
> into a different element, it is no longer an atom of the original
> element.  It may not be radioactive anymore, or it may be radioactive in
> a different way.  If the half-life of the original radioactive material
> is long decay might not affect the number of Bq in the amount of time we
> care about, but if the half-life is short the number of Bq could change
> so fast that you need to keep calculating new numbers.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Maltese
> Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:02 PM
> To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 1444, Issue 1
>
> Can anyone help me put together a paragraph that explains Becquerels to
> the layman. I am creating a document to help explain radiation.
> Especially in relation to scary media about Fukushima. You can take a
> look at what I've got so far.
>
>
> http://deregulatetheatom.com/reference/radiation/quick-radiation-referen
> ce-guide/
>
>
> If there is also a graphic I would be very grateful.
>
>
> Rick Maltese
> 647-379-9655
>
> webcompose.ca  webdesign services
>
> leadsheetz.com  music services - transposing, composing, teaching etc
>
> rickmaltesemusic.com  piano gig page
>