nuclear-news

Norway and Finland find tiny amounts of recently released radioactive particles in the air

Barents Observer 26th Feb 2018. Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) says tiny amounts
of radioactive iodine-131 were measured in the air Kotka, east of Helsinki
in late January. The same isotope was then measured again last week north
to Kajaani. The levels were very low, ranging from 0,7 to 1,6
micro-becquerel per cubic meter air, STUK says in a news release

From where the radioactivity is coming is still unknown. Radioactive iodine-131
has a half-life of only eight days so the measurements are proof of a
rather recent release.

The source could be a nuclear reactor, a facility
producing isotopes for medical purposes or by releases from a nuclear
weapons related test. Norway’s Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) on
Monday confirms detection of radioactive iodine also at several of the
country’s air-measurement stations.
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/ecology/2018/02/traces-radioactive-iodine-air

February 27, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Finland