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Nuclear Fuel Fragment from Fukushima Found In EUROPE
Fukushima did not just suffer meltdowns, or even melt-throughs …
It suffered melt-OUTS … where the nuclear core of at least one reactor was spread all over Japan.
In addition, the Environmental Research Department, SRI Center for Physical Sciences and Technology in Vilnius, Lithuania reported in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity:
Analyses of (131)I, (137)Cs and (134)Cs in airborne aerosols were carried out in daily samples in Vilnius, Lithuania after the Fukushima accident during the period of March-April, 2011.
***
The activity ratio of (238)Pu/(239,240)Pu in the aerosol sample was 1.2, indicating a presence of the spent fuel of different origin than that of the Chernobyl accident.
(“Pu” is short for plutonium.) Fukushima is 4,988 miles from Vilnius, Lithuania. So the plutonium traveled quite a distance.
Today, EneNews reports that a fuel fragment from Fukushima has been found in Norway:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, Atmospheric removal times of the aerosol-bound radionuclides 137Cs and 131I during the months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident – a constraint for air quality and climate models, May 2012: Hot particles (particles that carry very high radioactivity, e.g., fragments of the nuclear fuel) were present in the FD-NPP plume.
Elsevier (academic publisher) — Fukushima Accident: Radioactivity Impact on the Environment, Pavel P. Povinec, Katsumi Hirose, Michio Aoyama, 2013: Paatero et al. (2012) estimated that a significant part of the Fukushima-derived radioactivity is in hot particles from autoradiogram of a filter sample from 1 to 4 April 2011 at Mt. Zeppelin, Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.
Poster for Alaska Marine Science Symposium (Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands) — Fukushima fallout: Aerial deposition on the sea ice scenario and wildlife health implications to ice-associated seals, Jan. 20, 2014: Exposure to fallout while on ice in 2011 [...] Models suggest pinnipeds may have been exposed while on ice to the following: [...] Hot particles, nuclear fuel fragments, were detected in air samples taken in Svalbard, Norway (Paatero et al. 2012).
Fukushima is 10632 kilometers – or 6,606 miles -from Svalbard, Norway.
Moreover, the distance is actually much further … because it took a circuitous route from Fukushima to Norway.
As ENENews reports:
(Paatero et al. 2012) Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Airborne fission products in the High Arctic after the Fukushima nuclear accident: It is evident that the plume arriving in Svalbard did not come from Europe but directly from North America [...] [Hot particles are] either fragments of the nuclear fuel or particles formed by the interactions between condensed radionuclides, nuclear fuel, and structural materials of the reactor [...] Based on the total beta, 137Cs and 134Cs activity content [...] on the filter it can be estimated that a significant part of the activity related to Fukushima was in hot particles. So far the authors are not aware of any other reports concerning hot particles from the Fukushima accident. [...] the radionuclides emitted into the atmosphere were quickly dispersed around practically the whole northern hemisphere within a couple of weeks.
In other words, the hot particles from Fukushima traveled to North American, and then to Europe.
This is only logical.
We noted 2 days after the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami:
The jet stream passes right over Japan. The jet stream was noticed in the 1920′s by a Japanese meteorologist near Mount Fuji, and the Japanese launched balloon bombs into the jetstream to attack America during WWII.
(Indeed, U.S. nuclear authorities were very concerned about the West Coast getting hit by Fukushima radiation … but they covered it up.)
So the Fukushima hot particles traveled from from Japan to the West Coast of North America … and then were carried by wind currents from there.
It’s approximately 5,000 miles from Fukushima to the closest part of North America. It’s another 4,298 miles from San Francisco to Svalbard, Norway.
So the hot particle traveled roughly 9,298 miles from Fukushima to Norway.
That's a long way - and crosses both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans - as shown by this rough mock-up using Google maps:
This is not a total surprise, given that - on April 2, 2011 - the Norwegian Institute for Air Research modeled releases from Fukushima hitting Norway and other parts of Europe:
And a French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety from March 2011 showed the same thing (click link for video animation):
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Sorry QN - you lose a lot of credibility referring to bananas at all, because it's deliberately misleading.
As is conflating internal and external radiation exposure.
The only radiation that matters is internal. Any exterior radiation which can be stopped by clothing would fail to harm you.
The point about the banana's is that you are surrounded by radiation which does not seem to harm you.
Obsessing about radiation from Fukushima is foolish. You are listening to demagogues, like GW. Make them prove their case or shut up.
This is big, real big. Real proof from a vetted Government Report.
Fukushima increased the radiation in Alaska, the same amount as a direct nuclear bomb test in Alaska. No joking here, this is amazing.
http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/2014/01/further-analysis-on-2011-al...
Its already found in fish stocks but they keep telling us, its safe to consume. Thank you Fuk u Abe.
There are 'The Babushkas of Chernobyl'. They have returned and have been living in the Exclusion Zone for nearly 30 years.
And then there's Galen Winsor; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejCQrOTE-XA you know him, he swims in the warm blue waters of the storage pool.
He lived nearly 20 years after, but I'm not so sure that wasn't just luck, like the soldiers marching around in the 1950s where the bombs were being set off, hiding in trenches, etc, where some lived a long time afterwards and some died horrible deaths not too long afterwards.
Might have been luck, but Galen eating Uranium was something to behold. His information is the only thing really giving me pause for thought in this whole debacle (aside from the illusory nature of reality, of course!). I'm glad to see that his message is still out there being heard.
Pretty soon the Japanese will claim the Fuki Radiation is a "Penis Enlarger".... a very sought after asset I hear over there in Japan.
This could be a game-changer if they spin this right.
Fukushima. Now THAT'S "glabal warming."
Unfortunately Al "Green Alright" Gore can't making any money "fixing" Fukishima, so we will just have to live with it.
"Jap Nuke Material Found By Mars Rover!"
I call bullshit!
Find the next closest GE plutonium reactor
That's the source. Or some other shithole refining or storage facility nearby...looking for an alibi.
The nuke industry is completely out of control! Wishing won't make it so. It's a bad technology. Scrap it.
You have a point. But... the isotopes that are released from Fukushima can often be identified, because they're different from the disasters in the Ukraine, and Tsjecho-Slovakia (now two seperate countries). They have a "signature".
Scrap it ... and then tax your citizens ten percent of GDP or more for the next 10,000 years to keep the waste secure. Or at least, to try to keep the waste secure and deal with the occasional incident.
Fukushima Abe ain't doin nuthin about it. Its up to Tepco to fix the problem. In the meantime, we're all getting free radiation, thank you Fuku Abe.
I have a MSME with specialties in energy, thermal fluids, and materials. I used to like nuclear, before I learned how insane they were implementing it, and the coverups, so i wrote this manifesto on Why Shut Them Down
http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/p/manifesto-why-shut-them-down.html
It isn't just about costs; you also need the secure location to store them in. Germany has Dry Cask storage, but I think even they have some leakage. In America, the NIMBY people lead by Harry Reid have blocked the construction of long term storage.
There was supposedly an incident at a dry cask storage where a gasoline powered truck caught fire, causing the roof of the salt mine to collapse, leading to the casks being compromised, leading to criticality.
listen to this, and don't forget to pick your jaw from the desk afterwards:
http://lhalevy.audioacrobat.com/download/e031a54c-3edc-f424-4b5b-2c38ef0...
we are in the process of failing as a species.
if you mean WIPP i
Its not dry cask, they store "low level" waste in 55 gallon drums in Carlsbad NM.
Its called WIPP -had a plutonium and americium plume released thru ventiliation system despite hepa filters.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=wipp+plut...
Southern Hemisphere anyone?... Not that it won't spread there eventually as well.
No wonder "Barry in the White House'" decision making towards starting a potential WWIII with Russia is such an easy one? He and his bosses will be getting Fukushima'd as will everyone else on this planet!
Makes you kinda wonder why Russia and China didn't make very critical public statements early on holding Japan and the international nuclear regulatory agencies responsible when they knew the fallout was this severe 3 years ago?
But where in the Southern Hemisphere?
Australia and New Zealand are obscenely expensive, for the most part. Some of Australia might be ok.
Lots of the island nations are too low to water level, in case global warming turns out to be real.
Africa is not so fun of a place to be.
St. Helena might be ok, if you can get in, and get along with the people and get used to living in such a remote place.
Argentina, Brazil, Venezuala, all going unstable. Maybe Uruguay or Chile?
You've already had 3 years exposure, what's (a few) more?
Hey now, when they said it was contained what they meant was on the planet, not the island.
inb4 they find fragments on the moon.
Hell, I may as well start smoking again.
LOL. Mind if I join you?
With enough of this shit in the air, we may ALL start smoking, with or without tobacco.
That would be exceptionally stupid. Trading exposure to miniscule amounts of I-131 for lots and lots of exposure to Polonium.
Paging, Mr. Banzai ... Mr. Banzai to the white courtesy phone ...
Old news we'd discussed in early days of this event.
North America is DK'd.
Two more months before effects of the fuel pool rod recovery disaster are self evident to the masses.
Push for ACA to keep this hush/hush is over, so in other words ... U R Fucked.
If you like your tumor, you can keep your tumor.
Obamacare will cover it. Everything, but the doctor, the hospital and the meds, but the linen service is spectacular.
As long as the colostomy bags and Obamaphones are free I will be happy.
Sorry, only one per customer - while supplies last.
The article loses credability when it fronts for The Union of Concerned Scientists who are frauds.
Credibility.
Are you saying leaking radiation is a good thing?
I said credibility.
Fukishima is a disaster that is being ignored like the homeless guy who isn't considered a threat till he kills someone.
All the homeless guys are working at Fukushima right now. Does Tepco love the homeless or do they just like cheap disposable labor?
Tepco says the best way to deal with an overwhelming nuclear disaster is subcontract your minimum wage homeless worker through the Yakuza.
Tepco raping the world to bring you cheap electricity that it turns out isn't really very cheap at all, please watch out for radioactive cows when crossing the streets.
NEWS: Thousands of Fukushima Cows Culled in Decontamination ProgramAuthorities in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture have ordered the culling of 1,692 cows abandoned after the evacuation of the region’s radiation zone, Japan Daily Press reported Friday.
Nice numbers 1, 5, 11, 12, 13 and 14!
As GW copies some old half-information into the first paragraph of this new post,
let me post it and my reponse to it also once again:
The Environmental Research Department, SRI Center for Physical Sciences and Technology in Vilnius, Lithuania reported in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity:
Without further qualification, this proves only one thing:
Measurement technology capabilities is pretty awesome these days!
Following your link brings up these pieces of information:
The activity concentration of (239,240)Pu in one aerosol sample collected from 23 March to 15 April, 2011 was found to be 44.5 nBq/m(3).
If I calculate correctly that would be 44.5 Bq/km(3) so ~44 radioavctive decays per second in a cubic kilometer, from those isotopes alone - unimpressive.
Fukushima data were compared with the data obtained during the Chernobyl accident and in the post Chernobyl period. The activity concentrations of (131)I and (137)Cs were found to be by 4 orders of magnitude lower as compared to the Chernobyl accident.
4 orders of magnitude lower means about 1/10'000th of Chernobyl. Quickly trying to dig up some Chernobyl fallout maps seems to indicate Latvia was at worst on the edge of the main fallout zones of the Chernobyl plume. By travel path, Latvia is about 24 times further away from Fukushima than Chernobyl. But because of travel time, quite a bit of the (131)I had already decayed before arriving, so comparisons are difficult.
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2014-04-25/theyve-found-missing-fuk...
Now if you read GW's here added information very closely, it turns out all linked articles are referring back to only one article
Paatero, J., Vira, J., Siitari-Kauppi, M., Hatakka, J., Holmén, K., Viisanen, Y., Airborne fission products in the high Arctic after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 114 (2012) 41-47.
which unfortunately doesn't seem to be publically available.
That is a very meager basis for sounding the alarm bell!
Bingo! 44.5 bq/km3 was the info i was looking for. Case closed. George can let us know when it reaches that amount per m3, and then we start worrying.
The article is publicly available, right here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X12000033
Oops, sorry, I forgot.
DONT FEED THE TROLLS
I had also found that link, but one can only read the abstract without paying $35.95
No matter what is in it, one article remains a pretty meager base for far-reaching conclusions, and the multiple "he reported he said she said he interpreted it as" style actually has negative weight for me.
Fraser River, British Columbia
http://blog.seattlepi.com/bigscience/2014/03/12/bit-of-fukushima-radiati...
It came from Fukushima, but how the heck it got so far up the Fraser River Valley in British Columbia has scientists mystified.
A bit of cesium-134 — a telltale kind of radiation particle expected from Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster — has been detected in a soil sample taken from the beach at Kilby Provincial Park, said Krzysztof Starosta, an associate professor of chemistry at Simon Fraser University.
The sample was collected by a marine biologist studying spawning salmon at that point in the river. Starosta said the university has collected five other samples from the area looking for more of the radiation, but so far nothing.
“The sample provided was measured and we saw cesium-134, at a very low level and not a concern to public health,” he said. “We have not seen any other cesium-134, but we’ve only tested five samples so far. … We are sure that we see it and can reproduce the measurement, but it is based on a single soil sample.”
He said the big mystery, since they have just that one sample taken from a beach so far upriver, is how it got there. It could have been airborne, landed on a hill or mountain and been washed down to the river.
That map...It's hard to imagine Russia, China or the rest of Asia didn't get a huge dose. It crossed the entire Pacific Ocean and then on to Europe but did not contaminate an area a few hundred miles away?? I am not really saying anything, just something I noticed.
The only victims during WWII in the continental United States were due to fire balloons launched from Japan and travelling through jet stream across the Pacific. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon
Due to prevailing wind direction, Russia and China probably got the lowest dose of anyone in the northern hemisphere.
don't eat king crab or pacific salmon, i'm just sayin.
Soon King Crab will eat you!
...or Tuna.
GW,
If you would just hush your mouth this little radioactive problem would go away.
Signed,
Your friendly neighborhood fascist state agency.
<Guess which one.>
/sarc
Sorry, sir ... I forgot to smile:
One of the main advisors to the Japanese government on Fukushima announced:
"If you smile, the radiation will not affect you. If you do not smile, the radiation will affect you."