Fukushima, April 04: As Japan has been unable to stop the leakage of radiation into open waters, fear over the spread of radioactive contamination through seawater has increased.
Fukushima plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) confirmed on Saturday that it had detected a 20-centimeter crack in a concrete pit at its No.2 reactor which is the source of radioactive water leaking into the sea.
Japan’s government announced on Sunday that several months may be required before radioactive particles stop being released from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
“Radioactive material could enter water and soil … but when they enter water the sensitivity of the issue increases because water flows in nature and is used for different purposes” Dr. Mehron Afkhami said.
Afkhami explained there is no accurate way of separating radioactive material from water, especially since these materials could spread over a vast area through seawater.
Radioactive iodine (Iodine-131) has a radioactive decay, a half-life of about eight days. Half-life of a radioactive element is the period of time required for the substance to lose half of its atoms.
After eight days radioactive iodine will be reduced to half, and after 16 days only one quarter of original amount remains. It only disperses after several eight-day periods.
Commenting on the threats radioactive iodine poses for human health, nuclear physicist Behrouz Bayat said, “Iodine enters and accumulates in the thyroid in the human body. That is why in environments where there is danger of contamination with radioactive iodine people are given iodine pills so that the thyroid is filled with natural iodine and the body does not absorb radioactive iodine.”
A more dangerous element is radioactive cesium which has a half-life of about 30 years.
“If cesium is absorbed by the body, it can get into muscles and bones. Cesium emits both gamma and beta rays and can destroy neighboring cells,” Dr. Bayat said.
Another element which could be very dangerous for human body is Strontium.
“Strontium emits beta rays, has a life span of about 328 years and since it is similar to calcium it can get into the bones, and changes neighboring cells. In fact it causes mutation in cells,” Dr. Bayat explained.
He added that plutonium is another dangerous element which emits alpha ray and the most important threat it poses is that if inhaled, it can cause cancer in human lungs through emitting alpha ray.
——–Agencies