San Diego soil sample (8/4)
8/4 (10:03am): We have tested two samples of topsoil from San Diego, CA. One sample was soil that had been stored inside, while the other sample was exactly the same kind of soil but it had been outside during the period 3/11 to 6/29/2011. As expected, the sample from outside has detectable levels of Cs-134 and Cs-137 while the sample kept inside does not.
Mark [BRAWM Team Member]
Thank you for testing soil
Thank you for testing soil BRAWM team! Can we expect any more soil testing? How about from the middle of the state where much of CA produce comes from?
It would also be interesting to test a soil sample where produce has been grown with watering to see how much of the deposited cesium has been incorporated into the crops grown there or in deeper layers of the soil. ??
I am wondering how all this compares to our natural exposure. Especially if soil becomes airborne as in dust.
Thanks again for your work.
anxious mom
Thank you Mark. Interesting
Thank you Mark.
Interesting that the San Diego soil sample has levels roughly comparable to the Berkeley soil.
As the other poster mentioned, it would be nice to have some idea of the depth at which the sample was taken. I have the feeling that most if not all of the recently deposited cesium will be in the top 2" or so. Thoughts?
BC, I just replied below
BC, I just replied below that the sample is from the top 3-4 inches. We are testing a sample right now from the next lowest layer, and so far there is no sign of Cs-134 or Cs-137. So you might be correct about the depth of the cesium. The soil is "average" in that it is not particularly sandy or clay-like, but I am not a soil expert.
Yes, the activity is about the same as the Bay Area soil sample (~1 Bq/kg of Cs-134 and Cs-137). I wil try to find out more about the sample dimensions so that a better comparison can be made. Our samples are down to only about 1 inch in depth, but these might be deeper.
Mark [BRAWM Team Member]
Ah, how
Ah, how comforting..............
Is most of the lovely cancer-causing material from the catastrophe in Japan ... or could some possibly be from that "perfectly safe", "environmentally friendly" nuclear plant located a bit up coast?
More info
Hi mark can u please explain @ what depth was topsoil sample taken?
The soil is from the top
The soil is from the top layer, down to about 3-4 inches in depth. We are also testing another sample from the next layer down, so that should be interesting.
Mark [BRAWM Team Member]
From a health perspective
From a health perspective what does this mean? How many cross country airplane flights does this add up to?
It does not compare to cross
It does not compare to cross country flights at all.
From a health perspective this means, that these soil samples prove that radioactive cesium has been deposited on California soil and was in the air. Therefore, food grown in agricultural CA soil had cesium on them and will incorporate radioactive cesium in them in varying amounts. When you eat radioactive contaminated foods, some radioactive elements will pass through your digestive system and some will be incorporated into your bones and tissues.