nuclear-news

Strontium 90 detected in region around Tokyo, Washington Post, By Chico Harlan, October 13 SEOUL — Tokyo residents carrying radiation-detection equipment have found small hot spots in several areas of the city, prompting Japanese officials to promise more detailed government monitoring of radiation levels in the country’s most populous region.

Separately, a soil sample in Yokohama, just south of Tokyo, was found this week to contain strontium-90, an isotope that can accumulate in bones and cause cancer. It was the first time that strontium, with a half-life of 29 years, was detected more than 60 miles from the plant. The strontium was found atop an apartment building in a measurement made by a private agency at a resident’s request……

Apart from the latest radiation detections, Japan faces a massive decontamination job that will require years of work and billions of dollars. Officials say an area of 925 square miles must be decontaminated by a combination of scrubbing and topsoil removal.

The towns closest to the plant, located along the coast in Fukushima prefecture, will not be habitable for decades. Last week, health-care workers began conducting checkups on more than 300,000 children in Fukushima…..  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/mini-hotspots-strontium-90-detected-in-region-around-tokyo/2011/10/13/gIQA6XqHhL_story.html