#Radioactive Strontium from Soil Within 10 Kilometers of #Fukushima I Nuke Plant

Diposkan oleh Pengetahuan dan Pengalaman on Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A slow dribbling of information on the extent of radiation contamination, so that people in Japan don't connect the dots and figure out that their soil, water, ocean have probably been contaminated beyond repair.

It took the Ministry of Education and Science one month to announce the test result, just like when it announced the result for the locations 30 kilometers away from the plant back in mid April.

Asahi Shinbun (6/1/2011):

文部科学省は31日、福島第一原発から10キロ圏内の大熊町、双葉町の4カ所の土壌から、半減期が約29年と長い放射性物質ストロンチウム90が検出されたと発表した。

The Ministry of Education and Science announced on May 31 that the radioactive strontium-90 was detected from the soil samples at 4 locations in Okuma-machi and Futaba-machi, the towns located inside the 10-kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuke Plant.

 土壌は4月29日~5月1日に採取した。原発から西南西約2キロの大熊町夫沢では、1キロあたり最大で68ベクレルが検出された。他の3カ所では 2.5~12ベクレルだった。半減期が約50日と短いストロンチウム89も4カ所で出ており、過去の核実験によるものではなく、第一原発から放出されたも のとみられる。ストロンチウムの土壌での基準はないが、体内に入ると骨にたまる傾向がある。

The samples were taken from April 29 to May 1. At Ottozawa district of Okuma-machi, located 2 kilometers west by southwest of the plant, 68 becquerels/kilogram strontium-90 was detected. At the other 3 locations, it was 2.5 to 12 becquerels/kilogram. Strontium-89, whose half life is 50 days, was also detected at all 4 locations. They are thought to have come from Fukushima I Nuke Plant, not from the past nuclear tests. There is no standard on the amount of strontium in the soil. Strontium tends to accumulate in the bones once ingested.

 文科省が3月中旬に浪江町と飯舘村の土壌を採取したときは、最大で1キロあたり32ベクレルが出た。東京電力が4月中旬に第一原発の敷地内で採取した土からは約570ベクレルが検出されている。

When the Ministry tested the samples taken at Namie-machi and Iitate-mura in mid March, the maximum amount of strontium detected was 32 becquerels/kilogram. From the sample that TEPCO took in mid April at Fukushima I Nuke Plant, 570 becquerels/kilogram strontium was detected.

The result of this particular test has been uploaded at the Ministry's site (image is below), but it is not just strontium that they found. They also found:

  • Cesium-136 (half-life 13 days);
  • Tellurium-129m (half-life 33.6 days)
  • Uranium-234, -235, -238;
  • Plutonium-239 and 240 (at three locations)

The Ministry believes uranium there is naturally occurring, and plutonium is from the past nuclear tests.