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Tritium levels spike at Fukushima nuclear plant

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Bruce,

the thing about isotopes with long half-lives is that they are not very radioactive - so if you were to suffer plutonium contamination, they'd be the isotopes least likely to have an effect on your health.

Also, Plutonium-244 is not produced in appreciable amounts in nuclear reactors, so it will not be present in large amounts at Fukushima.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The public is not being lied to. Officials are saying what needs to be said, and the public is understanding what needs to be understood. This is Japan. Everyone is doing their best to manage a complex situation. The public understands this. Go test this on the street: the only ones outraged are foreigners.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Am I to believe that some of the tanks contain only tritium, and not the sister isotopes:""Among other things being contended with at Fukushima the longest-lived are plutonium-244, with a “half-life” ; of 80.8 million years, plutonium-242, with a half-life of 373,300 years, and plutonium-239, with a half-life of 24,110 years. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 7,000 years. ""?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

But they have a foreign consultant now, so everything is ok!

Give the man a chance?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The longer I am in Japan the more the contamination and the more I feel at risk. Hospitals in Japan have refused patients from Fukushima because radiation poisoning is not a curable disease nor are Japanese doctors familiar with its symptoms. No local government has a watch for radioactive contamination and if found it is covered with a blue tarp and left alone because there aren't any repositories for nuclear waste in this country.

Tons of nuclear waste in Japan are just being covered until residents and government thrash out who will have the unenvious burden of living next to a nuclear waste dump

Likewise Tepco has no possibility of containing the melted corium that is mixing with pumped in water and naturally flowing groundwater.

The levels of Tritium are spiking in the water due to uncontrolled nuclear reactions-Abe will soon be doing an embarrassing u-turn .....

1 ( +3 / -2 )

is this a new Star Trek Stunt for the movie opening?

Scotty: "Captain the Tritium crystals are Spiking up!!"

Kirk: " Don't worry Scotty , Abe has it under control! "

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Tritium, which has a half-life of around 12 years, is less harmful to humans than cesium and strontium. A becquerel is a measure of the release of radioactive energy.

Argonne National Laboratory, Environmental Science Division has produced a nice PDF called "Radiological and Chemical Fact Sheets to Support Health Risk Analyses for Contaminated Areas"

It gives a lot of information, including the Lifetime Cancer Mortality Risk, for various radioisotopes. Trawling it, and converting the information into Becquerels you get the following.

For one Becquerel ingested, your risk of death from radiation increases by the following amounts:

Cesium-134: 0.000000000945 - so by about 1 billionth. Cesium-137: 0.000000000675 - half a billionth. Strontium-90: 0.000000002025 - by 20 billionth. Tritium (H-3): 0.000000000000001 - by one quadrillionth.

For cigarettes, one cigarette increases the risk of death by 0.000000137, so 1 cigarette is the equivalent of 137,000,000 becquerels of Tritium.

Drinking 1 litre of water contaminated with 64,000 becquerels of Tritum is equivalent to 1/5000th of a cigarette.

I hope that helps put things in perspective. Avoid smoky rooms.

Cigarette stats from http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/risk.htm

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Tritium levels spike at Fukushima nuclear plant

Only days after Abe san clearly stated to the IOC that it was "all under control" and also that he would take full responsibility.......why am I not surprised???

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I should be irritated by this news but I'm not. That fact is actually scarier than the news story. Maybe that is what they are hoping for, people to become used to the fact that there is nothing that can be done. ...But I still have one question, why isn't the government doing this instead of a simi-private corporation?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This is very sad. On a daily basis we hear about more hotspots more radiation leaks and more problems, we never hear of any solutions... We also never hear anything good... Or progress made...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Common man: Be afraid.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Tritium levels spike at Fukushima nuclear plant

What it mean to common man?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

As I said shortly after 3/11 gravity & mother nature CAN NOT BE STOPPED its impossible! Over time gravity brings EVERYTHING down, it was patently obvious that most of the radioactive materials would end up in the ocean as its right bloody there! DUH!!

Seems the J-govt still hasn't gone back & reviewed what they should have learned in junior high geography class!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

levels of tritium - considered one of the least harmful radioactive elements, least harmful!!....but still far from good for you. I'd like an orange juice and a tritium omelette please, I'm trying to be health conscious. I did not know there was a varying level above deadly. But know I do? Compared to this smoking must be healthy.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A 16 fold increase since Sunday!? Yes. Everything is under control. I am so happy that it is "less" harmful to humans. It's all good! Sally forth!

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Holding tanks, that's a little misleading...funnels is a more correct term.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

All under control... Abe needs to fix this, this is not under control at all, daily something new

3 ( +4 / -1 )

another day, another leak.. i believe everything is still fine and there is no increased health-risk for the public. certainly the ground water knows where to stay

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Daijabu! Don't panic people. This must be normal cos Abe said its under control. That's how they do it in Japan. It's ok! >_<'

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Some brave soul (Satou-san) has just said "300 years" for a cool-off period RIGHT OUT LOUD, on the telly and everything. I suppose at least some of the popular morning TV is reporting about the situation - quite a frank appraisal. Of course, there was no segue into related topics, such as distribution of funds or the ongoing search/rescue of people and animals. No! We couldn't do that - it's off topic, and that would never do. Let's keep all topics in their own pigeon holes, because, heaven forbid, it may encourage DISCUSSION and possibly DISSENT and other awkward words beginning with "D".

2 ( +3 / -1 )

But...but...it's under control!!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Yeah, but it's 'under control' and 'not harmful to your health', etc. etc.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

But they have a foreign consultant now, so everything is ok!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

The worst comes in November when the fuel rod removal begins...

That assumes that the radioactivity levels are low enough for workers to remove those rods. With all these water spills, my fear is that the place will become so irradiated that they won't be able to reach the rods without surpassing the limit -- and then we're all in deep crap as if we weren't already. In such a case, Japan is going to need a lot of kamikaze.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

@DeDe Miura: Agreed completely. The worst comes in November when the fuel rod removal begins...

8 ( +9 / -1 )

JT, are you sure this is correct? According to the leader of Japan, there is no problem and everything is under control. Better check your resources again because a country leader would never lie to the international community just for a sporting event.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Shinzo Abe said" fukushima situation is under control" King Canute meet your 21st century doppelgänger

9 ( +10 / -1 )

This news is like a kids join the dots picture, with every pice of news we see more of the enevitable.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The Pandora's Box is officially open... me thinks the worse is yet to come. :(

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Well, at least I am being contaminated with a less dangerous form of radioactive element.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Welcoming the world for the 2020 summer games!

10 ( +14 / -4 )

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