Gov’t: Fukushima released up to 181 Quadrillion Bq of cesium, Chernobyl was 105 Quadrillion — Radioactive material to flow from Japan “for years to come” — Fukushima radionuclides have now spread “throughout N. Pacific”
ENENews.com
May 20th, 2014
California Coastal Commission (State of Calif. Natural Resources Agency), Apr. 30, 2014:
“[It’s] important to understand that the Fukushima release consisted of multiple radionuclides with distinct modes of release, chemical properties, radioactive half-lives, and behavior in the environment, all of which influence the potential for environmental harm. […] cesium-134 and cesium-137 were also released in significant quantities and pose greater potential risks to human and ecosystem health due to their reactivity, mobility in the environment, and biological availability.”
River runoff and groundwater discharge from contaminated areas, along with seafloor sediments off of Fukushima, are expected to supply relatively small but continuing doses of radioactivity to the North Pacific for years to come […] in the three years since the accident, Fukushima-derived radionuclides have spread throughout the North Pacific.”
“The total input of 137Cs to the North Pacific from Fukushima are poorly constrained, with estimates ranging from 14 – 90 PBq [90 petabecquerels, i.e. 90 quadrillion becquerels].”
“~76 PBq [of cesium-137 due to global fallout from nuclear weapons testing was] still present in the North Pacific in 2011 […] in the worst case the Fukushima disaster […] may initially have tripled the total amount of radioactive cesium in the North Pacific.”
Researchers estimate up to 181 PBq of cesium has already been released during the Fukushima disaster (90 PBq of 134Cs + 91 PBq of 137Cs)
According to the National Research Council — Committee on an Assessment of CDC Radiation Studies: “35 PBq of Cs-134 and 70 PBq of Cs-137″ were released during Chernobyl disaster.
Chernobyl = 105 PBq of Cesium-134, -137
Fukushima = Up to 181 PBq of Cesium-134, -137 (releases ongoing “for years to come”)
