Cesium in Japan

Enenews has posted a very interesting interview with Mr. Steven Starr, Director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at the University of Missouri discusses the many dangers of Fukushima here

It is a great interview that is well worth listening in its entirety.

One comment I found notable was Starr's quote from Alvarez that there is enough cesium in 34 assemblies to make 5000 miles technically uninhabitable.

Starr emphasized that cesium bioaccumulates within species and biomagnifies across species

Cesium 134 and Cesium 137 decay beta particles (high speed electrons) and gamma rays. The effects of ingested radiocesium are significant on internal organs.

In a 2003 video titled Nuclear Controversies by Vladimir Tchertkoff,[i] Professor Yury Bandazhevsky (former director of the Medical Institute in Gomel), states that based on his research on children exposed to radiocesium from Chernobyl, ‘Over 50 Bq/kg of body weight lead to irreversible lesions in vital organs.’ In a short summary of his work published in 2003, Bandazhevsky described high levels of Cesium-137 bioaccumulation in Chernobyl children’s endocrine glands, particularly the thyroid gland, the adrenals, and the pancreas.[ii] He also found high levels in the thymus and the spleen. He found higher levels of bio-accumulation in children than adults.

How much cesium was released by Fukushima into the atmosphere and ocean if vaporization of 34 assemblies produces enough cesium to contaminate 5000 square miles, rendering it unsafe for human habitation?

I've been arguing for the last 18 months that fuel in spent fuel pool #4 burned. I don't know how much fuel burned before water was successfully used to stop the fires.

Enenews is reporting that Gundersen observed uncovered fuel in March of 2011:

Gundersen soon after 3/11: Photo shows nuclear fuel is exposed to air at Fukushima Unit 4 fuel pool — Clean path for plutonium to escape offsite (VIDEO)

There were many reports of fires at unit 4 in early March 2011. For example:

NRC Transcripts March 16, 2011 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1205/ML12052A108.pdf

John  Monger page : “unit 1 and 2 is boiling down, and unit 3 and 4 is having zirc/water reaction. They believe there is essentially no walls on unit 3. The explosion – I’m sorry – unit 4. The explosion leveled the walls, leveled the structure for the unit 4 spent fuel pool all the way down to the approximate level of the bottom of the fuels. So, there’s no water in there whatsoever” page 62

  

Majia here: Somehow the pool was stabilized. Even so, I think it burned again in the winter of 2012 - 2013.

Compare images of unit 4 in May of 2011 with the image from 2012.

MAY OF 2011