To date, the consistent claim from authorities is that 2 fission products have been emitted into the biosphere by the Fukushma Event.
This is most odd, given that the fission product inventory consists of over 250 radio-nuclides.
Various press reports in the weeks since the Fukushima Event first occurred have mentioned that more than 2 fission radionuclides have been identified. Notably, the New York Times, on acquiring a cofidential copy of a US NRC report on Fukushima, reported that 8 fission radionuclides had been identified in the environment of Japan outside of Fukushima reactor reservation.
The US radiological monitoring survey operations state that soil samples will studied. This does not take much time. It is predictable that over time the public will be drip fed the details of just what the radionuclides being emitted by the nuclear reactors at Fukushima are. There is more than Cesium 137 and Iodine 131 being emitted.
So it is no surprise today find a press report confirming the emission of radio strontium by the GE type reactors at Fukushima. As follows:
http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/88905.php
“Workers at stricken Japan nuclear plant make a little progress
“Tuesday, the science ministry said small amounts of strontium, one of the most harmful radioactive elements, had been found in soil near Fukushima Daiichi. ”
As the reader will recall, there are several types of radio strontium produced by the fission of both uranium and plutonium.
The isotope of strontium produced most abundantly by the fission process is Strontium 89.
The popular mythology has Strontium 90, as a long-range, accreting hazard from nuclear fission, in pre-eminent place. Of the numerous fission isotopes of Strontium, Strontium 89 is one important contributor to immediate fallout radiation dose and hence induced disease. Strontium 89 is produced more abundantly than Strontium 90 by nuclear fission. 1 gram of Strontium 89 has a radioactivity of 27,800 curies. 1 gram of Strontium 90 has a radioactivity of 143 curies. [1] 1 curie is the rate of radioactivity of 1 gram of Radium.[2]
Further, 2.62 x 10 to the 4th power curies of Strontium-89, and 2 x l0 to 2nd power curies of strontium-90 form per Kiloton of fission yield. (calculated from bomb data) [3] The popular culture is imbued with awareness of Strontium 90. This cultural awareness results from the official pronouncements that are limited to possible future harms from the gradual build up of strontium, not the actual immediate doses suffered from all fission products, including the highly radioactive Strontium 89 which gives a very high immediate dose if internalized. As GE produces and markets Sr89 Chloride as a palliative cancer pain relief for the terminally ill, its own Sr89 Chloride Metastron product data sheet contents is known to the organisation. It is a potent carcinogen. 33 out of 40 rats injected with Sr89 chloride developed bone cancer within a 9 month window. Cancer induction in the control rats = 0. I would therefore not expect GE, Tepco, the Japanese government or the IAEA to admit to the uncontrolled release of Sr89 by the Fukushima Event. However, the finding of radio strontium as reported by Reuters above, confirms that some isotope of strontium has been emitted. And it probably includes Sr89. Sr89 is the decay product formed from the Krypton decay chain.
In summary, it took over a week for authorities to name two fission products released by Fukushima – Iodine 131 and Cesium 137. It has taken 3 weeks for officials to admit that plutonium has been found in Fukushma soil.
It has taken four weeks to admit that radio strontium has been emitted into the environment.
In contrast, one urgent and primary action of officials in response to nuclear emergency is to identify the radionuclides present. It is irrelevant what the scenario is – nuclear battlefield, radiological terrorist/nuclear reactor. It does not matter. It would be done. Officials know the radionuclide emission inventory list unleashed on the environment by the Fukushima Event and they are dripping out to the public as if we were idiots. My blog post “What is in the cloud” asked for this very quesiton in the first week of the event.
At the present rate of one radionuclide disclosed per week it will take 4 years for authorities to dribble out the truth of the radiological inventory of the Fukushma Event. This is appalling.
A Partial list of Fission Products:
Various radio active isotopes of:
Hydrogen
(Tritium)
Beryllium
Carbon 14
Silicon 32
Phosphorus 32 (activation product)
Sulphur 35
Chlorine 36
Argon
Potassium
Calcium
Scandium 46
Vanadium 50
Manganese 54
Iron
Cobalt 60
Nickel
Zinc 65
Selenium
Krypton
Rubidium 87
Strontium DISCLOSED WEEK 4
Yttrium
Yttrium
Zirconium
Niobium
Molybdenu
Technetium 99
Ruthenium
Rhodium
Palladium 107
Silver
Cadmium
Indium
Antimony
Tellurium
Iodine 129
Iodine 131 DISCLOSED WEEK 1
Cesium DISCLOSED WEEK 1
Barium 137
Lanthanum 138
Cerium
Praseodymium
Neodymium 144
Promethium 147
Samarium
Europium
Gadolinium
Terbium
Dysprosium 159
Holmium 166
Thulium
Lutetium
Hafnium
Tantalum
Tungsten
Rhenium
Osmium 194
Iridium
Platinum 193
Thallium
Lead
Bismuth
Polonium
Astatine 217
Radon
Francium
Radium
Actinium
Thorium
Protactinium
Uranium
Neptunium
Plutonium (FUEL, TRANSURANIC) DISCLOSED WEEK 3
Americium
Curium
Berkelium
Californium
THESE ARE SOME OF THINGS URANIUM “TURNS INTO” (TRANSMUTATION) DURING THE FISSION PROCESS. THIS IS WHY FUEL RODS ORIGINALLY COMPOSED OF URANIUM OR URANIUM AND PLUTONIUM (MOX, REACTOR NO. 3) ARE VASTLY MORE LETHAL IN THEIR RADIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION THAN THE ORIGINAL UNFISSIONED FUEL. THIS IS WHY REACTORS CANNOT BE ‘TURNED OFF”. THIS IS WHY THE FUKUSHIMA REACTORS REQUIRE MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER TO BE POURED OVER THEM. THIS IS WHY THERE IS WATER CARRYING THE FISSION INVENTORY INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
The 211 radioisotopes found by Tait et al does not include the short lived
Radioisotopes.
(Source: AECL-9881. J. C. Tait, I. C. Gould, and G. B. Wilkin.
Derivation of Initial Radionuclide Inventories for the
Safety Assessment of the Disposal of Used CANDU Fuel.
AECL Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, August, 1989.
http://www.ccnr.org/hlw_chart.html)
. Extract from the General Electric Data Sheet for Metastron,
Strontium 89 Chloride:
QUOTE:
“Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility
Data from a repetitive dose animal study suggests that Strontium-89 Chloride
is a potential carcinogen.
Thirty-three of 40 rats injected with Strontium-89 Chloride in ten consecutive
monthly doses of either 250 or 350 μCi/kg developed malignant bone tumors
after a latency period of approximately 9 months. No neoplasia was observed
in the control animals.
Treatment with Strontium-89 Chloride should be restricted to patients with well
documented metastatic bone disease.
Adequate studies with Strontium-89 Chloride have not been performed to
evaluate mutagenic potential or effects on fertility.
Pregnancy: Teratogenic effects.
Pregnancy Category D. See Warnings section.
Nursing Mothers
Because Strontium acts as a calcium analog, secretion of Strontium-89
Chloride into human milk is likely. It is recommended that nursing be
discontinued by mothers about to receive intravenous Strontium-89 Chloride.
It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk.
Pediatric Use
Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients below the age of 18 years have
not been established.” End quote.
Do we have to wait until 2015 to find out if Sr89 is on the Fukushima fission product emission intventory list?
Its half life is about 52 days. In proportion to its fission creation rate, in the military sense, it is a significant battlefield contaminant for 3 years. Uncorrected ignorance regarding the reduction in count rate due to half life reduction is dominating media and public comment in relation to the decline in significance of the health effects of Radio Iodine. I would expect the same to be true of Sr89 when authorities finally get around to what they consider to be “full disclosure”.