Antinuclear

Effects of radioactive isotopes released in nuclear meltdown

25 years after the worst nuclear disaster in history, the ultimate [health] cost remains unknown…

Ultimate impact of damage to Japan nuclear reactors still unknown – The Washington Post, Brian Vastag, 13 March 11, “…….Of the dozens of radioactive elements, or isotopes, spewed from a total meltdown, four present special dangers:
lIodine-131 accumulates in the thyroid but will radioactively decay relatively quickly, so little is left in the environment after a few months.
lCesium-137, in contrast, lingers for decades and dissolves in water, meaning it can mix with rain, enter the soil and groundwater and be taken up by plants and animals.
lStrontium-90 poses a deeper health risk. It behaves like calcium in the body, so it can accumulate in bones and teeth.
lPlutonium-241 presents a more insidious threat. It is not very toxic, but as it slowly decays, it produces the much more dangerous isotope americium-241.
Mousseau said concentrations of americium are still increasing in Ukraine and Belarus, where unspent plutonium fuel from Chernobyl dispersed. “It looks like [americium-241] will peak in about 2050 in these areas,” he said.
And so, 25 years after the worst nuclear disaster in history, the ultimate cost remains unknown…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ultimate-impact-of-damage-to-japan-nuclear-reactors-still-unknown/2011/03/13/ABbwoBU_story.html

March 14, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized