Contaminated wood

[Egoitein@aol.com]

Dear Mr. Farber, 

I have followed the thread about Cs release from Spain with interest.   Your
comments and those of Tony LaMastra were very informative.   

I have questions about the radioactivity in wood.  I suppose that the
contamination is the result of fall out from atmospheric tests and the
consequent uptake by trees from contaminated groundwater or soil. 

If trees absorb Cs, what about other vegetation including produce and further
up the food chain such as milk and meat products?

Also isn't the distribution of  the fall out more prevalent in the Northern
and Eastern part of the US?

If Tony's analysis of steel mill operations is correct, a lot more information
is needed to explain a thousand fold increase in atmospheric concentrations
over southern France, Switzerland and northern Italy.   Since no other
isotopes have been mentioned, the initial source is most likely to be caused
by inadvertent cesium in the scrap metal feedstock.

Hoping to learn more.

Ernest Goitein
egoitein@aol.com