Traces of Japan nuclear fallout in California rainwater

traces-of-japan-nuclear-fallout-in-california-rainwater

Low levels of radioactivity showed up in rainwater in northern California two weeks after the Japan nuclear disaster in March but soon returned to normal, said a US study out Wednesday.

The detected levels of radioactive isotopes cesium, iodine, and tellurium were very small and posed no risk to the public, according to the findings of research funded by the US Departments of Energy and Homeland Security. Rainwater was collected in the San Francisco Bay area cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and Albany from March 16 to 26, said the report in the online journal PloS (Public Library of Science) ONE.

The first sample that showed elevated radioactivity was collected on March 18th, and levels peaked on March 24th before returning to normal,” said study led by professor Eric Norman in the department of nuclear engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.

The study also noted that “similar gamma ray counting measurements were performed on samples of weeds collected in Oakland and on vegetables and milk sold commercially in the San Francisco Bay area.”

Some of the same fission products detected in rainwater were found in the milk and produce samples, also at a level that posed no risk to the public, it said.

On March 11, a record 9.0 earthquake and tsunami killed about 20,000 people along the coast of Japan and sparked nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima-Daichi plant. The nuclear plant was sent into meltdown after its cooling systems were swamped by the waves, sending radiation into the air, sea and food chain in the world’s worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl. (TerraDaily)

Fukushima is battered by Typhoon Roke right now.

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2 Comments

  1. I just happened to have been swamped by that rain in March, in the bay area! My umbrella was in my car that broke down, and I forgot to put it in the rental car… and boom, I got soaked! I don't even live in the bay area… just "happened" to have the misfortune of going there and getting rained on! The irony is that I not only left the state just prior to that due to California being in the path of Fukushima plumes, but took all mitigation measures prior to this trip! Please note; I was on the sofa for a month with no energy after that, and someone in Morro Bay that got caught in the rain had the same problem… and both of us had our falling out for some time as well! There is no such thing as "safe" radiation! Some have better immune systems than others…

  2. Ok why are findings from March right after the earthquake and that we already knew, just being released in an article and called news??? Is this one of those…just a reminder to everyone there is nothing to see here, continue going about your buisness…kind of articles? I love how it still says it is the worst nuclear disaster ever yet it still poses no threat to the world. LOL I feel like I am living in a really bad scripted movie or made up reality where you know it is all fake but you are stuck in it anyway. It makes me want to scream but no one would hear me. Sometimes I feel like I am watching a hologram

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