The aftershocks of the devastating earthquake and tsunami Japan earlier in the year are still being felt. The Japan Times has reported "High level of strontium found at Fukushima plant". Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) has said that radioactive strontium which is up to 240 times the legal concentration limit has recently been detected in seawater samples which were recently collected near an intake at the severely damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Strontium has also been found in groundwater near the plant's Nos. 1 and 2 reactors.
Strontium Can Cause Serious Health Problems
Strontium is reported by WebElements be a product of nuclear fallout which presents a major health problem. Strontium-90 does not occur as the free element and has a half-life of 28 years. The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States reports that strontium is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors, and also in nuclear weapons. The waste from nuclear reactors contains strontium. Reactor parts and fluids can also become contaminated by strontium. In the 1950s and 1960s large amounts of strontium were discovered during atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.
There are serious health hazards associated with over-exposure to strontium. Because strontium-90 is chemically similar to calcium, it tends to deposit in bone and blood-forming tissue (bone marrow). Therefore , strontium-90 is often referred to as a "bone seeker." There has been an association found between internal exposure to Sr-90 and bone cancer, cancer of the soft tissue near the bone, and leukemia. The risk of cancer from exposure to strontium depends on the concentration of Sr-90 in the environment, and also on the exposure conditions.
Attempts Are Being Made To Decontaminate The Radioactive Water
Tepco has reported it has completed preparations to begin tests on a newly installed radioactive water treatment system at the Fukushima plant. First, an adsorption device which is designed to remove radioactive substances will have to be repaired. The new radioactive water treatment system is being designed to decontaminate highly radioactive water that is accumulating at the site and undermining work to restore the damaged plant.
This radioactive water treatment system is vital to containing the nuclear crisis which has been going on for three months. There will be efforts to recycle the decontaminated water and use it as a coolant for the reactors. The reactors lost their cooling functions in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
People concerned about possible over-exposure to strontium-90 can be checked with a bioassay which is usually done by urinalysis. The bioassay is more accurate if it is taken as soon as possible after ingestion or inhalation of strontium-90. You can not sense exposure to strontium-90. And once strontium-90 is dispersed in the environment it is almost impossible to avoid.
Therefore, this tragic nuclear accident in Japan with the lingering potential for the development of cancer in people exposed to this radioactive leak of strontium-90 at the Fukushima nuclear plant should prompt Japan and the entire international community to quickly reassess their nuclear energy and weapons policies. It now appears wise to envision a world not just free from nuclear weapons but also free from nuclear power plants.
Sources:
- Environmental Protection Agency, Strontium
- The Japan Times Online, High level of strontium found at Fukushima plant June 13, 2011
- WebElements, Strontium
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