Between the Poles: Fukushima Daiichi: Iodine-131 concentrations in seawater 30 km off Fukushima coast exceeding legal limit

Geoff Zeiss

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April 17, 2011

Fukushima Daiichi: Iodine-131 concentrations in seawater 30 km off Fukushima coast exceeding legal limit

MEXT is reporting radioactive element concentrations in seawater samples taken 30 km off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. Below are the maximum readings for each day when samples have been taken since the end of March.

I-131 Cs-137

[5] 2011/4/13 12:25pm 64.1 54.3 Bq/l

[4] 2011/4/11 10:55am 88.5 71.0 Bq/l

[3] 2011/4/9 11:00am 77.4 44.2 Bq/l

[6] 2011/4/7 12:00pm 56.3 19.8 Bq/l

[5] 2011/4/5 12:42pm 66.1 38.5 Bq/l

[6] 2011/4/3 11:04am 18.3    10.70 Bq/l

[5] 2011/4/1 11:29am 12.0    15.7 Bq/l

[6] 2011/3/30 10:54am    8.7      8.46 Bq/l

[5] 2011/3/28 11:06am 6.96 19.6 Bq/l

The regulatory limit for I-131 is 0.04 Bq/cm³ (40 Bq/l). For Cs-137 the limit is 0.09 Bq/cm³ (90 Bq/l).

Posted at 01:50 AM in Environment, Fukushima Nuclear Incidents | Permalink

Comments

It would be nice to have a better reference for the regulatory limit than the Wikipedia page on it. I work on some of these Wikipedia articles, and it's typical that their value comes from yet another secondary source.

The actual NSC regulation would be nice. I would start here:
http://www.nsc.go.jp/NSCenglish/guides/nsc_rg_lwr.htm

From which I find myself here:
http://www.nsc.go.jp/NSCenglish/guides/lwr/L-RE-I_02.pdf

Which seems to me, has nothing to do with concentrations at 30 km off shore. I find it damaging to the state of the public debate when there seems to be no objective way to deduce what the regulations are that are being exceeded and causing outrage.

Don't mean to be attacking you. This is insufficiency of what I would call the "collective conversation". Things would never be so convoluted if news actually used experts and provided references for their claims.

Posted by: Alan | April 17, 2011 at 09:48 PM

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Between the Poles

Geoff Zeiss

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April 17, 2011

Fukushima Daiichi: Iodine-131 concentrations in seawater 30 km off Fukushima coast exceeding legal limit

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