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December 14th, 2015 
Awake Goy 
Government data shows that the U.S. is being bombarded with Fukushima radiation 1,000 times higher than normal. In
the months following the 2011 meltdowns at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant, residents of Los Angeles were being exposed to
levels of dangerous alpha radiation nearly 1,000 times above normal
levels, a government study found. ~ David Gutierrez
The data came from a July 2012
presentation at the National Conference on Radiation Control. The
presentation was given by Joji Ortego, Principal Radiation Protection
Specialist for Los Angeles County Radiation Management.
Following
the Fukushima meltdowns, Los Angeles county heard many concerns from
residents about the potential health impacts of radiation crossing the
Pacific Ocean from the disaster. So they commissioned a study of
radiation levels in the area.
The report notes that federal agencies
delayed in providing information to the county, and that the state
Radiologic Health Branch was unable to provide inspectors due to budget
constraints.
The state lab was unable to provide a reasonable turnaround
time for sample analysis, so the county instead hired a local radiation
monitor manufacturer for the analysis.
Radiation levels exceed federal thresholds
Samples
were taken between April 29 and May 2, 2011, approximately seven weeks
after the radioactive releases from Fukushima. The county found that
gross alpha radiation levels at a location in Los Angeles were 300
femtocuries per cubic meter (fCi/m3), and levels at a Hacienda Heights
location were 200 fCi/m3.
For context, the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory reports the average (annual median) level of gross
alpha activity for the state of California as just 0.38 fCi/m3 – that is, 790 times lower.
The
levels detected in Los Angeles County were a full 100 times higher than
the level that requires an investigation at a U.S. nuclear laboratory,
according to the Environmental Monitoring Plan at Brookhaven National
Laboratory:
“If the gross alpha activity in the [air] filters is greater
than 3 fCi/m3, then collect more samples in the vicinity, and
project manager will review all detections above the limits … All
values greater than the above-stated gross alpha/beta concentration
shall trigger an investigation.”
Finally, the Los Angeles County
levels were almost 15 times higher than the federal regulatory limit for
alpha radiation, which is 21 fCi/m3, according to a 2010 document from
Idaho National Laboratory.
Even worse than it sounds
What do all these numbers mean for human and environmental health?
Alpha
radiation is one of four major types of radiation emitted by
radioactive atoms. It is also referred to as “alpha particles,” or a
“Helium nucleus.” Other types of radiation are beta radiation, gamma radiation and neutrons.
Of
alpha, beta and gamma radiation, alpha radiation is by far the most
dangerous if found inside the human body. That’s because unlike beta or
gamma radiation, alpha radiation is easily absorbed by cells, where it
can cause serious damage, including to DNA.
Alpha particles can enter
the body if they contaminate food or water, or if they are breathed in –
hence the concern among both nuclear laboratories and Los Angeles
county about airborne levels of alpha radiation.
The alpha radiation detected from the Fukushima
disaster most likely comes from plutonium 239, which is produced as a
byproduct in many nuclear reactors.
No alpha radiation, however, is
emitted by cesium-137, which is probably the most prolific isotope
emitted by Fukushima that is still circulating in the environment
(iodine-131, also emitted in large quantities, has a very short half
life and has probably mostly vanished from the environment by now).
Whereas the beta and gamma radiation emitted by radioactive cesium may
not be as dangerous from within the body, it is actually far more
dangerous if found outside the body – for example, in the contaminated
water and soil around the Fukushima plant, or the contaminated water
being dumped into the Pacific Ocean.
That’s because beta and gamma
radiation is far more able to penetrate the body’s external defenses,
and tear apart cells and DNA as it passes through.
December 13, 2015 – KnowTheLies
References
CRCPD.org[PDF]
SAER.LLNL.gov[PDF]
BNL.gov[PDF]
DEQ.Idaho.gov[PDF]
PNL.gov[PDF]
PBADUPWS.NRC.gov[PDF]
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