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

#Wildfire risks high at #US #NuclearPlants

Posted on January 19, 2025 by beyondnuclearinternational

The GAO identifies a number of US nuclear power plant sites that are vulnerable to the possible outbreak of #wildfires where they are located.

"'According to our analysis of U.S. Forest Service and NRC data, about 20 percent of nuclear power plants (16 of 75) are located in areas with a high or very high potential for wildfire,' the GAO report states. 'More specifically, more than one-third of nuclear power plants in the South (nine of 25) and West (three of eight) are located in areas with a high or very high potential for wildfire.' The GAO goes on to identify 'Of the 16 plants with high or very high potential for wildfire, 12 are operating and four are shut down.'

"To analyze exposure to the wildfire hazard potential, the GAO used 2023 data from the U.S. Forest Service’s Wildfire Hazard Potential Map. 'High / very high refers to plants in areas with high or very high wildfire hazard potential. Those nuclear power stations described by GAO as 'high / very high' exposure to wildfires and their locations are excerpted from GAO Appendix III: Nuclear Power Plant Exposure to Selected Natural Hazards.

Table 1: Potential High Exposure to 'Wildfires' at Operating Nuclear Power Plants

–AZ / #SAFER, one of two mobile nuclear emergency equipment supply units in the nation, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–CA / #DiabloCanyon Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–FL / #TurkeyPoint Units 3 & 4 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–GA / #EdwinIHatch Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–GA / #Vogtle Units Units 1, 2, 3 & 4, nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–NC / #BrunswickNC Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–NC / #McGuireNC Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–NC / #ShearonHarris Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH /VERY HIGH”
–NB / #CooperNuclearPowerStation, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–SC / #Catawba Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–SC / #HBRobinson Units 1 & 2 nuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–WA / #ColumbiaNuclear power station, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”

Table 2: Potential High Exposure to “Wildfires” at Shutdown Nuclear Power Plants

–CA / #SanOnofre Units 1 & 2, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–FL / #CrystalRiver, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–NJ / #OysterCreek, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”
–NY / #IndianPoint Units 1, 2 & 3, “HIGH / VERY HIGH”

"Wildfires can transport #radioactive contamination from nuclear facilities

"A historical review of wildfires that occur around nuclear facilities (research, military and commercial power) identifies that these events are also a very effective transport mechanism of radioactivity previously generated at these sites and subsequently released into the environment by accident, spills and leaks, and careless dumping. The radioactivity is #resuspended by wildfires that occur years, even decades later.

"The fires carry the radioactivity on smoke particles #downwind, thus expanding the zone of #contamination further and further with each succeeding fire. The dispersed #radionuclides can have very long half-lives meaning they remain biologically hazardous in the environment for decades, centuries and longer."

Read more:
https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2025/01/19/wildfire-risks-high-at-nuclear-plants/
#Downwinders #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForAI #NuclearSafety #ClimateCrisis