The effect of #ClimateChange on sources of #radionuclides to the #MarineEnvironment

Published: 16 March 2024
Justin P. Gwynn, Vanessa Hatje, Núria Casacuberta, Manmohan Sarin & Iolanda Osvath

Abstract:
"Climate change interacts with the sources and cycling of contaminants, such as radionuclides, in the environment. In this review, we discuss the implications of climate change impacts on existing and potential future sources of radionuclides associated with human activities to the marine environment. The overall effect on operational releases of radionuclides from the nuclear and non-nuclear sectors will likely be increased interference or prevention of normal operations due to weather-related events. For certain #RadioactiveWaste dumped at sea and sunken #NuclearSubmarines, the impact of climate change and ocean #acidification on the release of radionuclides and their subsequent fate in the marine environment should be considered further. Fluxes from secondary sources of radionuclides in the marine and terrestrial environment and cryosphere will change in response to climate change impacts such as sea level rise, warming and changes in precipitation patterns. In addition, climate change impacts may increase the risk of releases of radionuclides from operational and legacy wastes on land to the marine environment. Overall, our synthesis highlights that there is a need to understand and assess climate change impacts on sources of radionuclides to the marine environment to meet environmental and management challenges under future climate scenarios."

Full paper:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01241-w

#NoNukes #NoNuclearWeapons #NoNuclearDumping #ToxicLegacy #LegacyWastes #RethinkNotRestart #NuclearWaste #NuclearWasteStorage #IllegalDumping

#USA, #Consumer #advisory: #Michiganders encouraged to check their freezers for recalled #shrimp, shrimp products, which may contain Cesium-137 (Cs-137), https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside-mdhhs/newsroom/2025/10/13/shrimp-consumer-advisory

#radionuclides #radiations #food #contamination

#USA, #Hawaii: DOH ALERTS PUBLIC ABOUT SEA PORT PRODUCTS CORP #RECALL OF RAW FROZEN #SHRIMP DUE TO POSSIBLE #CESIUM-137 #CONTAMINATION, https://health.hawaii.gov/news/newsroom/doh-alerts-public-about-sea-port-products-corprecall-of-raw-frozen-shrimp-due-to-possible-cesium-137-contamination/

#radionuclides #radiations #food

#USA, #Hawaii: DOH ALERTS PUBLIC ABOUT SOUTHWIND #FOODS, LLC #RECALL OF FROZEN #SHRIMP DUE TO POSSIBLE #CESIUM-137 #CONTAMINATION, https://health.hawaii.gov/news/newsroom/doh-alerts-public-about-southwind-foods-llc-recall-of-frozen-shrimp-due-to-possible-cesium-137-contamination/

#radionuclides #health #food

☢ #Caesium-137, a product of #uranium-235 fission, is one of the world's most widely used #radionuclides and is the inspiration for my nick.

Did you know that Margaret Melhase Fuchs, a #chemistry undergraduate at UC #Berkeley, discovered Cs-137 in 1941, but was prevented from pursuing a PhD?

More information about this interesting woman who has been repressed from history:
📎 https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/40/4/18N

📎 https://www.chemistryworld.com/culture/margaret-melhase-fuchs-and-the-radioactive-isotope/4015340.article

#ManhattanProject #Melhase #radioactivity #Seaborg #WomanInScience

#QA: What are #alpha #particles? https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/what-is-radiation/ionising-radiation/alpha-particles

Alpha particles (a) are composite particles consisting of two protons and two neutrons tightly bound together. They are emitted from the nucleus of some #radionuclides during a form of radioactive decay, called alpha-decay. An alpha-particle is identical to the nucleus of a normal (atomic mass four) helium atom i.e. a doubly ionised helium atom.

Are you into #nuclear #science ☢️ and handling data with #python and #pandas? If so, you might be interested in the #NuPaAc package, which allows you to easily access #nuclide data ⚛️ for series of #radionuclides.

- 📦 PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/nupaac/
- 📖 Tutorial: https://codeberg.org/Cs137/NuPaAc/src/branch/main/tutorial.md

#radioactivity #academia #radioactivedecay