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UPDATE: Low levels of radiation detected in Oxfordshire

2:10pm Tuesday 29th March 2011 in News By Chris Buratta

Low levels of radiation have been detected in Oxfordshire connected with the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The Harwell-based Health Protection Agency has reported "the minutest levels" of iodine-131, associated with events at the stricken Japanese nuclear plant, at its Oxfordshire monitoring stations.

However, the agency stressed there was no risk to public health.

It said: "The dose received from inhaling air with these measured levels of iodine -131 is minuscule and would be very much less than the annual background radiation dose.

"The detection of these trace levels reflects the sensitivity of the monitoring equipment."

The HPA said levels were extremely low at 300 micro-becquerels per cubic metre.

This followed reports from monitoring stations in Glasgow and Oxfordshire of measurements averaged over the last nine days which found 11 micro-becquerels per cubic metre.

The agency added: "The levels detected therefore mean there is no public health risk in the UK from the release of radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

"Levels may rise in the coming days and weeks but they will be significantly below any level that could cause harm to public health."

Comments(16)

Alfie Nokes says...
3:32pm Tue 29 Mar 11

Hmm. Reports of only iodine 131 as per various other places, is the focus on that because that is the isotope with the shortest half life and also the one that is easiest (cheapest) to deal with? What about cesium-37 and strontium-90 and even worse, Plutonium, which being an alpha emitter is very hard to detect and harmless outside the body, but a single particle inhaled into the lungs will remain, constantly irradiating the unprotected tissues (and can decay into even more deadly materials)?

TBTB lied to the people about Three Mile Island, they lied about Chernobyl. Is there any reason to think that now they would give us the 'full specification'?

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AGG says...
4:19pm Tue 29 Mar 11

OH MY GOD! RADIATION! AARGH!

Here we go again... Panic and screaming - unless you are actually sat in the reactor buidlings in Japan, you will probably get a higher dose of radiation by going on holiday to Cornwall where the rocks naturally give off radioactive radon gas.

Get a grip, stop wailing over radiation, and concentrate on things that actually kill people here - like alcohol, bad driving and bacteria.

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Alfie Nokes says...
4:51pm Tue 29 Mar 11

Glad you've no worries AGG, met a friend from Tokyo Thursday gone, who'd been evacuated from that very city, he hadn't been 'sat in the reactor buildings' but according to you he has less to worry about than those going on the rocks in Cornwall? Oh you said 'probably' so that lets you off the hook if you turn out to be wrong. Is Radon an aposite comparison? - according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking, causing 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States - doesn't sound like the friendly little character you're portraying

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AGG says...
5:20pm Tue 29 Mar 11

I'm not stating that radon is "friendly" - I'm pointing out that the risk from Fukushima is much lower than naturally occurring ones that we tolerate and even - in the case of all those people moving to the "Costa Geriatrica" to retire - appear to accept by moving there.

21,000 deaths per annum in the US? That's nasty, but how does that compare with gun deaths? Where the ability to shoot your neighbour is something that people actively campaign for? Or deaths on the roads? Again - one risk is seen as acceptable, but not another. Which killed most people - Chernobyl or Bhopal? Yet we make far more fuss about nuclear than chemicals!

You'll get far, far more radiation from a visit to your dentist for an x-ray than we are ever going to get here in the UK from Fukushima, short of a truly apocalyptic event there. Incidentally, I hope you haven't got a smoke detector, because that contains and alpha-emitter...

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Alfie Nokes says...
5:33pm Tue 29 Mar 11

AGG thanks for making yourself clearer. I am pointing to the fact that almost all of the main stream media are focussing on one particular radiation - iodine-131 and none of the rest and why it's not likely the public will be given full SP (after having been twice burnt already wouldn't anyone reasonably be suspicious?)
An x-ray lasts for a very short time and it's over, the same cannot be said for nuclear fallout, so it's nowhere near a decent comparison.
I don't have a smoke detector emitting Americium-241 which when ingested or inhaled does pose health risks, thanks for your concern.

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Harsh@home says...
7:34pm Tue 29 Mar 11

Because we can forget about the people who actually died in the Tsunami and quake!

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caveman123 says...
10:14pm Tue 29 Mar 11

If you glow when you turn out the lights..panic!

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tpebop says...
10:15pm Tue 29 Mar 11

How was the connection to Japan Made?
AERE is not that far away.Could there be a leak from there, perhaps

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ox-cabby says...
3:22am Wed 30 Mar 11

Caveman123:

Your a funny guy, but please be serious here. ...its a serious issue!

I turned the lights off, and i didnt glow. I think i'm ok.

Phew!

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Madi50n says...
8:46am Wed 30 Mar 11

This is hilarious!

I'm thinking of opening a nuclear bunker store for all the plonkers concerned by this.

This time next year Rodney, we'll be millionaires!"

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Nick Mawer says...
4:37pm Wed 30 Mar 11

People forget that you can measure the dose of radiation that you can get from eating a banana. The trouble is here that there is no context for the concentration of radiaton that they are measuring.
I bet they can still measure background radiation from all kind of nuclear events that we have forgotten about.

Also there is an interesting radiation dose chart on the Wattsupwiththat science blog.

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Adrian1 says...
3:46pm Thu 31 Mar 11

Radiation, like any hazard deserves respect. Treat anything with respect and you should reap the benefits over the risks.
Used to be a radiation worker, yes there were some things I pointed out could be improved,... and they were, which is true in how many industries? But for the most part the safety and treatment of radiation if applied to every day life would see you banned from exiting bed in the morning! - bringing its own health and hygiene risks!
Having been educated about radiation I've since discovered my most unfavourite symbol which used to be the three inward pointing truncated triangles facing a dot is now three interlocking circles over a circle, especially if labelled level 3 or 4, far more leathal. In fact there's a good many chemical symbols I don't like too. When we first attended a course on wonderful radioactive substances we were very wary of the unlisted powders set in perspex to which we applied various detectors, some of them set the meters ticking half way up the scale. In conclusion, the lecturer whom had convieniently boiled a flask of water on a bunsen at conclusion noted we'd all looked pretty aprehensive. He took his coffee jar out, placed two teaspoons of coffee granules in his beaker, applied the hot water, stirred, dropped a detector into the open coffee jar and drank to the static hiss of a full lock stopped meter measuring relatively massive amounts of radiation,... kind of put me off coffee!

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sparky123456 says...
11:50am Sat 2 Apr 11

Everyone around me is a total stranger
Everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger
That's why I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so

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ox-cabby says...
6:03pm Sun 3 Apr 11

Sparky123456:

I think you've just confused everyone now!

Your record player is stuck

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dis-custard says...
11:14am Mon 4 Apr 11

Bananas are radioactive?

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fuzzywuzzy says...
11:54am Mon 4 Apr 11

Oh yes, bananas are very radioactive containing potassium and so are brazil nuts!

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