Radioactive Strontium Found
In Yokohama, 250 Km From Fukushima Plant
Japanese Nuclear Meltdown
EMF Radiation Protection
Magnetic Field Meters
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) -- Radioactive strontium exceeding normal
quantities has been detected in sediment from atop an
apartment building in Yokohama, some 250 kilometers from the
damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, city
officials said Wednesday.
While the discovery of 195 becquerels of strontium 90 in the
rooftop sediment has fueled concerns that leaked radiation
may have spread further than the government had expected,
the officials said the city office is carefully examining
where the material came from.
This is the first time strontium at a concentration of over
100 becquerels per kilogram has been found beyond 100 km
from the Fukushima plant. The strontium 90 was detected in
Yokohama, south of Tokyo, by a private agency that conducted
the test upon the request of a resident.
Strontium 90, with a half-life of 29 years, has been
detected at concentrations roughly between 10 to 20
becquerels at various places across Japan prior to the
nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquake and
tsunami.
After learning about the findings, the Yokohama city is now
investigating soil samples collected from areas near the
building, the officials said. Meanwhile, the science
ministry said it is still uncertain whether the strontium
had come from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
"Radioactive substances tend to accumulate in sediments and
so we still don't know whether the substance found in this
test had come from the nuclear accident," an official of the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology said.
The ministry has detected radioactive strontium at various
locations in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures within 100 km
from the crippled plant in earlier investigations following
the accident.
If inhaled or ingested, strontium tends to accumulate in
bones just like calcium. It is believed to cause bone cancer
and leukemia.
(Mainichi Japan) October 12, 2011
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