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Post-Chernobyl disaster sheep controls lifted on last UK farms

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    Post-Chernobyl disaster sheep controls lifted on last UK farms

    Restrictions covering sheep movements after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have finally been lifted from all farms in England and Wales after 26 years.

    As a result of the explosion and fallout, radioactive particles became locked in upland peat and accumulated in grazing sheep.

    Only 26 years!
    Confusion is a natural state of being

    #2
    Probably been waiting for radioactive caesium-137 and strontium-90 (both with half lives around 30 years) levels to come down. They'll be about half what they were 26 years ago.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by TimberWolf View Post
      Probably been waiting for radioactive caesium-137 and strontium-90 (both with half lives around 30 years) levels to come down. They'll be about half what they were 26 years ago.
      google is your friend

      Confusion is a natural state of being

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Diver View Post
        google is your friend

        Research after Fukishima

        Typical nuclear fission products after reactor meltdown:
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        % Element Half-life
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        6.9% Caesium-135 2.3 million years Beta. Not bad
        6.3% Caesium-137 30 years Bad
        6.1% Technetium-99 211,000 years Beta. Cancer risk if inhaled
        5.4% Zirconium-93 1.53 million years Beta. Not bad.
        4.5% Strontium-90 29 years Beta. Bad
        ~ 3% Iodine-131 8 days Bad for a few weeks
        1.25% Palladium-107 6.5 million years Beta. Not overly dangerous
        0.8% Iodine-129 15.7 million years Beta & gamma. Long term concern
        0.2% Krypton-85 10.8 years Mostly beta & little gamma
        0.1% Tin-126 230,000 years Gamma. Potential concern
        0.53% Samarium-151 90 years Beta. Not dangerous.
        0.04% Selenium-79 500,000 years Beta. Not dangerous but could be bio-concentrated
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Can't be arsed to format it as I've already provided the fission products of likely interest.

        Comment


          #5
          Yes but are the sheep safe?

          It comes to something when our food and recreation are affected by radioactivity
          Confusion is a natural state of being

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Diver View Post
            Yes but are the sheep safe?

            It comes to something when our food and recreation are affected by radioactivity
            Yeah, I think we tend to err quite heavily on the side of safety, except when something goes disastrously wrong in which case they will say everything is fine.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally Posted by Diver - Yes but are the sheep safe? It comes to something when our food and recreation are affected by radioactivity


              Originally posted by TimberWolf View Post
              Yeah, I think we tend to err quite heavily on the side of safety, except when something goes disastrously wrong in which case they will say everything is fine.
              Confusion is a natural state of being

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Diver View Post
                There's probably more to be worried about inhaling dust from those granite paving stones you've been lugging around than from eating a sheep.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by TimberWolf View Post
                  There's probably more to be worried about inhaling dust from those granite paving stones you've been lugging around than from eating a sheep.
                  Wooosh!

                  You missed the joke TW. I thought I'd get it in before somebody else did.

                  I'm Welsh

                  Sheep

                  Geddit?

                  Confusion is a natural state of being

                  Comment

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