Environmental implications require an international conversation
Storage tanks for radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
January 10,2021
At a meeting of parties to the London Convention and Protocol on Dec. 14, the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) clearly stated that the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean was not a sovereign decision for the Japanese government to make. Its reason was that the damage would extend beyond the scope of Japan’s jurisdiction, affecting nearby countries including South Korea.
While the US and France have stated their trust in the safety of releasing the water and referred to it as a matter for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to oversee, delegations from China, Russia, and Canada indicated their support for the South Korean government’s position. David Santillo, a Greenpeace Research Laboratories senior scientist who took part in the meeting,
Environment International. A team led by
Radionuclides are higher-mass elements that release excess energy. High-level exposure to these radioactive elements can cause long-term health risks such as an increased cancer risk. Due to their alarming finding, the researchers recommend that the Ukrainian government reinstate the routine monitoring of goods grown in the area, a safety measure that was ceased several years ago.
High levels of cancer-causing radionuclide found in food crops
The Ivankiv district of Ukraine has recorded some of the highest radionuclide concentrations detected outside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – a 30-mile radius around the nuclear plant that remains unoccupied to this day. Located about 30 miles south of the power plant, Ivankiv has emerged as an important agricultural district. However, the soil in the area has low exchangeable calcium values that can increase the amount of radionuclides that can be absorbed by plants.
Crops grown near Chernobyl are still contaminated, more than three decades after the worst nuclear disaster in history.
Almost half the grain analyzed by scientists in Ivankiv, about 30 miles from the power plant, showed levels of strontium 90 far above recommended levels.
It was also present at unsafe levels in firewood and wood ash used to fertilize crops.
The Ukrainian government stopped testing goods for strontium 90 in 2013.
A radioactive isotope, it collects in the teeth, bones and marrow like calcium, and can cause numerous kinds of cancer.
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in April 1986, a sudden power surge at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in a massive reactor explosion, exposing the core and blanketing the western Soviet Union and Europe with radiation
Unsafe levels of radiation found in Chernobyl crops, By Harry Baker – Staff Writer
19 December 20, The effects of the explosive 1986 disaster can still be seen in nearby crops.
Crops grown near the Chernobyl nuclear site in Ukraine are still contaminated with radiation from the explosive 1986 disaster.
In a new study, researchers found that wheat, rye, oats and barley grown in this area contained two radioactive isotopes strontium 90 and cesium 137 that were above safe consumption limits. Radioactive isotopes are elements that have increased masses and release excess energy as a result.
“Our findings point to ongoing contamination and human exposure, compounded by lack of official routine monitoring,” study author David Santillo, an environmental forensic scientist at Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter,