Fukushima Radiation Nears California Coast, Judged Harmless

sciencehabit writes After a two-and-a-half year ocean journey, radioactive contamination from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan has drifted to within 160 kilometers of the California coast, according to a new study. But the radiation levels are minuscule and do not pose a threat, researchers say. The team found a high of just 8 becquerels of radiation per cubic meter in ocean samples off the coast. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for drinking water allow up to 7400 becquerels per cubic meter.

Comments

8 disintegrations/sec per cubic meter. Nothing.

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't worth reporting.

Re:caesium 137 bioaccumulates

[Mr D from 63]

There is no safe minimum dose once it is in your body, slowly disintegrating, radiating into your organs and cells.

There is also no safe minimum exposure to sunlight, no safe minimum amount of air to breath, no safe minimal exposure to germs, no safe minimal ingestion of food. Nothing you do is safe.

But, if your definition of safe is something that is unlikely to cause any harm or ill effect, then small radioactive doses, internal or external, are quite safe, particularly in comparison to many things that we do in everyday life that we consider safe.