Radioactive strontium found on the seabed near Fukushima
Technicians at the Tokyo Power Company (TEPCO) have detected, for the first time, radioactive strontium on the seabed the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. TEPCO said strontium-89 and -90 represent a serious threat to health because it can be accumulated in bones by inhalation. It may also be the cause of cancer.
The finding is the result of a study on June 2 on the water quality about three kilometers off the coast – at two sites located approximately some 20 kilometers north and south of the nuclear complex. Between 10 and 44 becquerels per kilogram of strontium-90 were detected, which has a half-life of 29 years.
Before, these substances had been found on land and in sea water, immediately after the accident that caused the earthquake and the tsunami of March 11.
Shigeharu Kato, a member of the Nuclear Safety Commission, anticipates that it will require additional studies to determine if the marine flora and fauna can accumulate these substances and, if it is possible, how much.
Fukushima Strontium Radiation
Radiation on the local people
Researchers at the Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine (from Hiroshima University) have detected radiation in 15 habitants from the Fukushima prefecture, aged 4 to 77 years. They had abnormal levels of radiactive cesium in the two tests that were submitted. However, the study director, Nanao Kamada, has ruled out that the detected concentration represents a threat to health.
The worst nuclear crisis since 1986
A 9.0-magnitude quake struck off Japan’s northeast coast on March 11, triggering a tsunami and explosions at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which caused the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
The disaster destroyed over 151,000 buildings and killed at least 15,000 people, while 9,893 people still remain unaccounted for.
What is Strontium?
Strontium-89 is an artificial radioisotope which is used in treatment of bone cancer. In circumstances where cancer patients have widespread and painful bony metastases, the administration of strontium-89 results in the delivery of beta particles directly to the area of bony problem, where calcium turnover is greatest.
Strontium-90 is a by-product of nuclear fission which is found in nuclear fallout and presents a health problem since it substitutes for calcium in bone, preventing expulsion from the body.
Because it is a long-lived high-energy beta emitter, it is used in SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) devices. These devices hold promise for use in spacecraft, remote weather stations, navigational buoys, etc., where a lightweight, long-lived, nuclear-electric power source is required.
The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident contaminated a vast area with Strontium-90.
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