Fukishima or mother nature

[Marlin]

I suspect that they will find much if not all of the elevated dose is from natural radioactive elements.
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New condo's foundation radioactive

Quarry sourced crushed stones from hot-zone city of Namie

FUKUSHIMA — High levels of radiation have been detected on the first floor of a newly built condominium complex in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, the municipal government said.

Crushed stones used in the building's concrete foundation came from the exclusion zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, local government officials said.

A quarry firm said Monday it shipped some 5,280 tons of crushed stones from Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, to 19 contractors after the nuclear crisis started last March 11, including some 1,065 tons distributed to a concrete maker that provided the material for the Nihonmatsu building's foundations.

The firm is investigating its shipments to determine if crushed stones contaminated with radiation also were used in other buildings.

The city of Nihonmatsu detected 0.9 to 1.24 microsieverts of radiation per hour inside the first-floor condominium unit, which is higher than the radiation level outside, which was between 0.7 to 1 microsieverts at places 1 meter above ground around the building. On the second and third floors, the inside readings were 0.1 and 0.3 microsievert.

The city conducted the checks after a junior high school girl living on its first floor logged an exposure reading of 1.62 millisieverts during a three-month period from September, the local authority said.



http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120117a1.html?goback=%2Egde_2170900_member_127196678

[HydroDave63]

Good news: The condo isn't thaaaaaat much hotter than background.

Bad news: You take almost 1R/year dose for living there, whether you sleep in bed or on the porch.


Although it is easy for us to dismiss it as Fukushima's problem, really it is a teachable moment for long-term post-incident planning; redefining what level of exposure is/is not acceptable for the new "normal" after an accident or small ICBM exchange.

[Marlin]

According to this article the isotope is cesium, I now wonder what exposure is to the miners is if this is true. The miners would have ingested the isotope.



http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/radioactive-crushed-stone-may-have-been-used-in-over-80-buildings-meti-says

[Marlin]

Just for perspective for non rad people reading this thread.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/garden/24granite.html?_r=1

If I could find it I would link an article that I read many years ago about a man in New England that to keep from using electricity from nuclear generation built a solar house with crushed rock as its heat sink. His dose was very high from the radon and the rock. (I'll post it if I manage to find it.)