I Hate to ask this question - Mowing the lawn (Bill)
Ok, I am one of those folks who worry a lot about the radiocesium levels but I STILL have not gotten a real clar understanding of the mobility of the radiocesium (and the emissions from it) in the environment and it occurred to me that one of the fine smells of sumer is the new cut lawn/hay smells.
1. When we cut the grass and weeds is this spreading the radiocesium into the air?
2. Is the beta and gamma radiation from Fukushima in the grass and plants and dirt emitting rays all the time so if we roll in the grass we are getting dosed with the radiocesium gamma and beta rays?
3. How FAR do these rays actually go? If we are bare skinned (say shirtless) and digging in the dirt and clipping weeds with no gloves on are we worse off than wearing clothes/gloves (re: the beta rays) and doesn't the gama radiation go right through these?
4. How MUCH of the gamma radiation do we get exposed to from the Fukushima contamination just walking around on our lawns if it is in the soil and grass and in our gardens? I mean - since gama rays travel in all directions are they going up at us and through us (not internally but externally) and should this be a worry when my kids play in the yard? Seems like the radiocesium is here to stay and will be emitting this radiation as it disperses through the environment but especially in the soil for generations. I know BRAWM folks consider the amounts small but if I am avoiding all the foodstuffs I can due to internal emitters am I not still inhaling it in the sweet smell of cut grass and hay and isn't the extra Fukushima gamma and beta also travelling through me just walking around where it has been deposited by rain and air, especially if I or my kids go barefoot in the grass?
I really hope someone adresses this. ANYONE who can give me perspective on especially the external gamma radiation would help.
5. I mean, if there were no Fukushima deposits would I still be getting doses of gamma and beta from the grass and soil and, if so, how much? Anyone know?
6. Anyone know what percentage of external exposure the Fukushima ADDS to this?
7.On reflection about all this I know that a 1% increase in global temperatures can have a drastic affect on the environment. Is this a 1% increase in the existing gamma and beta load, for example? 2%? 5%? Any ideas BRAWM?
Part of my reason for asking this is that I live (and work occasionally) on an organic farm and have been digging in the soil with bare hands and getting covered with dirt which is in my clothes and shoes and it just troubles me that I have no way of knowing whether I am significantly increasing my radiocesium load or exposure. I assume that I may very well being if the gamma rays especially travel up and through me where they have been deposited in the soil and plants. Even if I do not eat what I am planting and harvesting am I still getting doses that are potentially risky or harmful anyway?
Like I said, I hate to ask this question as there will be the usual "don't worry, don't fear monger" responses and there will be those who say " stay out of the dirt: BUT what I am looking for is the actual scientific data which tells me HOW MUCH am I getting exposed to (based on avergaes from BRAWM tests of soil and grass and plants) and HOW MUCH MORE is THAT than prior to Fukushima.
I know this has been asked
I know this has been asked before...what about my kids sandbox?
We too have changed our diet, although we have added back some fresh greens (after seeing BRAWM's results) But am I missing the worst contributor?
To be honest...
It is very difficult to tell because it is hard to say whether radiation "clings" to the sand or is washed off imho. I would try to get some new sand and wash it and get rid of what is in there if it was rained on in march and April. Sail tests are showing that some of the highest levels are remaining in the topsoil.
It may be that it is impossible to get clean sand (maybe not impossible if you can buy bagged sand at like a Home depot which was under plastic) but I will say that some research has found the highest levels if contamination at beaches near nuke plants because they are constantly "washed" with effluents from nearby nuke plants in the water.
Washing and cleaning your sand may be a great way to deal with it though and I would recoment that too. But I would remove all the sand from the box and really wash it and dump the a=water elsewhere rather than simply pour water over it so it sinks into the sandbox further.
Sand Box and pools
.
There is little danger from external sources. But since you asked...
I allowed a grandkid to play in a neighborhood sandbox, swim and romp in the grass yesterday. We ate some fast food, including dairy. There were no warnings, just play. Let the kids enjoy life. The adults can handle the safety precautions.
I stacked the odds and picked the park. There was no rain from mid-March tos Mid-May here. The public sandbox was under a partial awning. There has been some June, (cleaner) rain. There are no special radionuclide accumulators, such as rain gutters, or other funnels, in the park. The outdoor clothes were changed at the door. The pool water source is a public water well.
If your backyard and sandbox received rain during the mid-March to mid-May time slot. Clean it up. Mow the grass. Bag the clippings and send them to the city dump.
If your water is from wells or spring-fed lakes, put a sprinkler in/near the sandbox and wash the sand. If you want to, scatter a couple of boxes of baking soda (like Arm & Hammer) or similar brand before turning the sprinkler on. (The neighbors won't see you water the sandbox in your back yard.) Clean the sandbox once and forget about it.
The sand will dry by next weekend. Water and mow the lawn regularly.
Mowing
.
Original Poster (OP)
You have asked a lot of questions and they are actually pretty good questions. I will try to start with some of your more pressing concerns. There will be some effort to priortize the generally important and to set aside the needless worries.
About cutting grass and leaf blowers. These do stir up the radionuclides that are on top of the ground. You can vastly improve on the situation by wearing a 'painter's mask' when mowing, edging, digging, ditching, planting, raking, sweeping, gutter cleaning, pruning and leaf blowing.
The painter masks with the exhaust valve near the center are much more comfortable, cooler and don't fog your sunglasses. The metal foil (nose pieces) should be pinched slightly to form-fit the mask to your nose and face.
Wearing a mask during these types of activities will substantially lower your risk of 'catching cancer' from Fukushima. Oh, and don't smoke ... anything, ever.
Bill Duff
On and In the plants
OP,
During the recent radionuclide storms from Fukushima, plants had lots more radionuclides 'on them' than 'in them'.
The radionuclides 'in the plants' mostly came from the leaves and not the roots. The percentage vary according to the plant variety. But if there are lots of radionuclides in the soil, rain and blowing dust, like in Fukushima...
The blowing dust and the rain account for most, maybe 95% of the radionuclides in the plants. And of course, rain and blown dust are the sources of virtually all the radionuclides on the plants.
Shake, wash, rinse and soak
OP,
Where practical, radionuclides can be shaken, blown off, washed and soaked.
Compressed air from a filtered air compressor will blow most of the radioactive dust off of plants. Under proper usage, a leaf blower could be used to do the same thing.
Clean water, from most water wells, spring-fed rivers or reverse osmosis units can wash plants and produce clean. Soap helps. A little soak time in mild common chemicals, like baking soda will actually leach some of the radionuclides out of plant leaves, like lettuce and spinach.
Little firecrackers
.
Radiation: Alpha, Beta & Gamma is not shooting from Japan to North America.
Radionuclides are like tiny firecrackers, scattered on the wind. The tiny firecrackers explode at random. These little pops can be measured with geiger counters. Click, click, click
The radionuclides from Fukushima, and 'pops' or nuclear disintegrations outside your body don't do much damage in North America.
What you eat, drink and inhale matters, a lot.
The main concern with radionuclides on your skin is about the ones that end up on your sandwich.
Settling out
.
For the present, the radionuclides in North America are 'settling out'. The peak radionuclide exposure time was from about March 17 through the end of May. The radionuclide storm was pretty serious for a while, but the worst has passed, for now. The windblown radionuclide concentrations are dropping lower and lower now.
Some of the radionuclides are scattered on the ground, and plants, some in the plants and some in the water. With time, the radionuclides are soaking into the soil. That is, generally speaking a better thing for our health, than blowing in the wind.
Phytoremediation
.
Bagging the grass is a very effective phytoremediation method.
The radionuclide storm has mostly subsided for now. The air is cleaner. Rain is no longer a torrent of radioactive waste.
The entire Northern Hemisphere has taken a serious hit. The radionuclides were scattered across earth, plants and sea. Now they are washing downward or sinking into the soil, lakebeds and the ocean floor. Now the rain is our friend again. Rain washes the radionuclides away from our homes, cars and streets.
Grasses and weeds are fairly effective at uptaking radionuclides from the soil. So mowing the grass is very effective phytoremediation. Every cutting is removing the Fukushima poison from homes, parks and schools. The summer of 2011 is an excellent year to ‘bag’ the grass and a really lousy year for mulching.
We don’t have HEPA filters on lawnmowers so a small and decreasing percentage of the radionuclides are scattered to the winds. This was a bigger deal during the recent radionuclide storm. Then most of the radioactive fallout was on the grass. Now the radionuclides are inside the grass. Like it or not, the suburban manicured yard is the best phytoremediation project going.
asking again - now we have the hot particles and fuel fleas
Reslly
can I get an answer to these uestions from BRAWM?
If hot particles or fuel fleas are in the grass etc can you detect them?
Will these travel into the food chain through rain and soil?
As an aside - a NEW illness epidemic detected in US post Fukushima (is this a related mutation?):
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-joplin-fungus-20110611,0,5212890.story
Due to some new work obligations I have little time to post or stay on top of the info so...
answers will be appreciated.
I mean ---- I work outdoors in soil, grass, plants etc and with the new hot particle fuel flea stories I want to know if they are here, can BRAWM detect them or not and HOW FAR AWAY MUST YOU BE IF A HOT PARTICLE IS SITTING IN THE DIRT AT MY KIDS' PLAYGROUND SO AS NOT TO GET CONTAMINATED WITH THESE NEARLY INVISIBLE KILLERS??
It's a known fungus
They've identified it as a rare, but known fungus type. And have associated its ability to become subcutaneous with wounds from tornado debris. What in the article makes you think it's an epidemic related to Fukushima?
Leaf Blowers!!!
I'll never look at a leaf blower the same way again
Great question!
Great question!
Still hoping BRAWM will respond
anyone have an opinion at BRAWM?
Great Answer,Great Answer!!LOL
You got more to worry about in N.Cali than Cesium if you're running around half-naked flexing your oily manhood posing with your sh_t-shovel & rolling around in the freshly-cut grass!!!LMAO--"Don't drop your gloves-unless they got a rope like the soap"!!LOL
^ Poster is phobic of more
^ Poster is phobic of more than just radiation...
bump....
bump....