The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported, during the week of June 6th, that radiation from the 23 nuclear tests conducted near Bikini Atoll in the 1940s and ’50s has lingered far longer than previously expected.
“Radioactive material such as cesium-137 currently produces, on average, 184 millirems of radiation per year on Bikini Atoll. And some parts of the island hit 639 millirems per year…Those measurements, made last year, surpass the 100 millirems per year safety standard set by the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which controls the island,” reports Science News.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nWFx-zmI0k
Scientists originally predicted that radiation levels would have dropped to 16 to 24 millirems per year, by now. But, the study’s coauthor- Emlyn Hughes, a physicist at Columbia University- believes those estimates were made by extrapolating data from measurements made in the 1970s and the inconsistencies most likely stem from incorrect assumptions about how rapidly radioactive material washes off the island.
She goes on to say that whether or not the higher radiation levels pose any serious health risks to the caretakers who live on the island for part of the year, depends on how long they stay on the island and whether the local fruit they eat is safe.
Scary stuff!
Source: Science News
