Government Under Fire as Radiation Is Found in Milk, Rain

"We have accelerated our precipitation and drinking water sampling and expect to have results in the coming days," EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in a statement.

The EPA’s tardy response to widespread alarm about radiation in rain and the air has been sharply criticized by Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear policy lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"It’s troubling that the EPA has to date not provided any precipitation data of its own, while measurements that have been made by states and others across the country are indicating somewhat surprising elevations of iodine-131,” Hirsch said Friday.

A rooftop water monitoring program managed by UC Berkeley’s Department of Nuclear Engineering detected substantial spikes in rain-borne iodine-131 during torrential downpours a week ago.

As shown in the graph below, published by UC Berkeley, Iodine-131 peaked at 20.1 becquerels per liter, a measure of radioactivity, on the roof of Etcheverry Hall during heavy rains a week ago. The federal maximum level of iodine-131 allowed in drinking water is 0.111 becquerels per liter.



The levels exceeded federal drinking water thresholds, known as maximum contaminant levels, or MCL, by as much as 181 times. However, the material has a half-life of eight days, meaning it breaks down quickly, and it quickly dissipates in the environment. Drinking water safety standards are based on prolonged exposures.

"Now, it isn't drinking water, and the MCL can be averaged for a period of up to a year," Hirsch said. "But it is striking that rainwater could be measured in Berkeley with radioiodine that is that far above the level you would generally be permitted to drink."

The material, which is one of the most toxic radioactive elements spewed when nuclear power plants melt down, is being ingested by cows, which are passing it through into their milk.

The UC Berkeley researchers also discovered trace levels of iodine-131 and other radioactive materials believed to have originated in Japan in commercially available milk and in a local stream.

Low levels of ioidine-131 were detected by state officials this week in milk harvested from San Luis Obispo. Milk from that region is tested frequently for radioactive material because its located near the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

“It’s absolutely no public health risk,” California Department of Public Health spokesman Mike Sicilia said.

Similar readings have been reported in milk from Spokane, Washington.

Additionally, EPA air monitoring stations have detected airborne radioactive material believed to have blown across the Pacific Ocean from Japan at levels that federal officials insist are harmless.

http://www.baycitizen.org/japan-disaster...on-milk/1/

Considering the fact that the EPA considered the airborne pollution after the 9/11 attacks to be harmless, I'd suggest taking your potassium iodide if you live on the west coast.

20 bequerel/L is absolutely nothing, a normal person radiates about 2000 bequerel IIRC. Also, they should express it in terms of Sieverts.

Iodine-131 consumption is a little different from standard background radiation, because it will accumulate in much higher concentrations in the thyroid and most damage will be concentrated on the thyroid. Its especially dangerous for young children and pregnant women.
And while these concentrations will not noticibly harm the majority of the public, a few unlucky people will probably get radiation poisoning and a damaged thyroid from this. Not to mention, the powerplants in japan are still leaking radiation (meaning it is reasonable to believe that the current levels in japan and here will increase), and it is possible that more radiation is traveling from japan to the US. They are so desprite that they are trying to plug the leaks with newspaper.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...pipes.html

But just to mention it again, most values look like they average around 5Bq/L. The Federal limit is .111Bq/L.
Thankfully, most people dont drink rain water, but that doesnt change the fact that we are exposed to the iodine in this water and some unlucky people will be affected and people that do collect and drink rain water will not be feeling too well.
And the real concern is probably in the local wild life that would rely on the rain water.

I find it hard to believe how dangerous amount of radiation would make it to US, when some cities in even Japan are unharmed.

Pretty sure cow cancer doesn't concern me much. If the Iodine-131 was specifically stated in the article to be expected to have broken down by the 9th day, what is the point of freaking out? Even if it does go into the cows and eventually the milk, I'm sure it'll be long after the radionuclides have lost all its radiation when we consume any of that milk.

Pretty sure cow cancer doesn't concern me much. If the Iodine-131 was specifically stated in the article to be expected to have broken down by the 9th day, what is the point of freaking out? Even if it does go into the cows and eventually the milk, I'm sure it'll be long after the radionuclides have lost all its radiation when we consume any of that milk.

You misinterpret what half life means. Half life is the time it takes for an amount or concentration of a substance to decrease by half. That means that after 8 days, half of the Iodine 131 remains. Then after 18 days, 1/4 remains. Then after 24 days 1/8 remains, etc. I thought schools taught this in middle school or something. Guess schools these days are worse than I thought.

But that assumes no extra iodine 131 is added to the system, but it is very possible for more to come from japan with the conditions the plants are still in. And only a small amount of people will experienience a direct sickness from this iodine (either by drinking rainwater, or being very unlucky as radiation is like a lottery), and the main concern is the wild life or animals that rely on rain water, or animals that consume substances directly affected by the radiation (ex. a cow eating grass saturated in radiated water).

I don't get it. This Berkley professor is upset that the EPA isn't making a big deal about something that isn't a big deal? As of right now it seems like an isolated incident with some rain water.

You misinterpret what half life means. Half life is the time it takes for an amount or concentration of a substance to decrease by half. That means that after 8 days, half of the Iodine 131 remains. Then after 18 days, 1/4 remains. Then after 24 days 1/8 remains, etc. I thought schools taught this in middle school or something. Guess schools these days are worse than I thought.

But that assumes no extra iodine 131 is added to the system, but it is very possible for more to come from japan with the conditions the plants are still in. And only a small amount of people will experienience a direct sickness from this iodine (either by drinking rainwater, or being very unlucky as radiation is like a lottery), and the main concern is the wild life or animals that rely on rain water, or animals that consume substances directly affected by the radiation (ex. a cow eating grass saturated in radiated water).

Oh? I thought half the "alarming" amount was enough to be ignored. Apparently we know half-life by book definition but conveniently forget how significant HALF of something is.
If you insist to go by guidelines, then let's work some numbers out.

Radioactivity = (mass/atomic mass)*Avogadro*(ln(2)/half-life) (in Bq)
=> radioactivity is directly proportional to the substance's mass, in other words the radioactivity decays exponentially in accordance to the decaying of the mass itself.
in other words:
radioactivity left after T time = initial radioactivity*(1/2)^(t/half-life)
<=> 0.111Bq = 20Bq*(1/2)^(t/half-life)
<=> (1/2)^(t/half-life) = 0.00555
<=> t/half-life = log(1/2) 0.00555 = ln(0.00555)/ln(1/2) = 7.49329651
<=> time required to reach desired radioactivity = 8*7.49329651 = 59.9463721 days = barely 2 months.
For the average (and not peak) values, the time span is barely: 8*(ln(0.111/5)/ln(1/2)) = 43.9463721 days = 6 weeks.
Assuming I'm not making any incorrect assumptions. (lol)

Fair enough to me, I don't like milk much. Know this though, after every week's time, the threat reduces by half, so essentially, as I initially suggested, after 8~10 days, the hype should already be 8 feet under. That is if you go out and scoop rainwater for daily consumption, or assuming that the transfer of radioactivity from rainwater -> grass or from grass -> cow's stomach or from cow's stomach -> other parts of body and essentially its milk is 100%.

Oh and, by the way, Xenon131 is a stable isotope if you're wondering.

I am not chemistry/nuclear professional, but it doesn't take a scientist to figure out that much. How much radiation can make it all the way across the Pacific Ocean?
There are more natural occurring radiation than what's reported in that article. Light is a form of radiation too. Fear the sun! Fear your lamp! fear your computer! fear your cell phone! They are sources of radiation too!

I am not chemistry/nuclear professional, but it doesn't take a scientist to figure out that much. How much radiation can make it all the way across the Pacific Ocean?
There are more natural occurring radiation than what's reported in that article. Light is a form of radiation too. Fear the sun! Fear your lamp! fear your computer! fear your cell phone! They are sources of radiation too!

Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. It makes a big difference.
It also depends a lot what is the particle of that radiation, photons, electrons and neutrons have very different effects.