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Only bits of it - Wales is a big place you know, especially if you flatten it out. SWMBO worked in Welsh government agriculture for quite a few years - no radiation monitoring round our way

As I understand it the only current monitoring is in a relatively small area of North Wales - about 300 farms AFAIK. The monitoring this summer will be used to inform a consultation process in autumn as to whether continued monitoring is needed. This only applies to sheep farming - absolutely nothing to do with bees.
 
Caesium -137 contamination

Caesium is retained in the soil and not easily leached out, particularly as the concentration, chemically, is so low (so high specific activity of the radio-isotope). It is in the same elemental group as sodium and potassium and is taken up by the grass, and then to the animals grazing on it.

The half life of that isotope is 30 years (from memory) and the grass that does not get eaten simply recycles the isotope back to the soil. I daresay we all got a good soaking that particular weekend (I remeber it well as we were at an event at Rutland Water and it hissed down for long periods) after the chernobyl disaster but it obviously rained so much more heavily over the welsh hills or the air stream was more concentrated at some point in time (perhaps when the core was seriously disturbed, such as an explosion).

So more than half of the problem has gone (a half-life has passed). Another thirty years and the problem will definitely be over, I would suggest. The decision on monitoring will be a financial one versus the unlikely event that any one person would eat a 'whole' sheep from the contaminated area! Maybe not quite that simple but you may get the idea...

RAB
 
It's worth noting that upland areas of Scotland and England (namely Cumbria) got a good dose of it too. I think Scotland is now completely unmonitored and Cumbria only has a few areas still being monitored.
Also worth noting that the upland farms in N.Wales can still sell their sheep - they just have to move them down off the hills for long enough for the radioactivity levels to become acceptable for human consumption.
 
It's worth noting that upland areas of Scotland and England (namely Cumbria) got a good dose of it too.

A cynic (not that any one would ever call me a cynic) would say wasn't it strange that there happened to be nuclear power stations very close to all the areas that Chernobyl dumped radiation on.
 
I think it's to do with the potassium in bananas. Potassium 40 is quite radioactive. Mind you a few other foods concentrate it too.

On the banana theme - they can be described as herbs becaus the banana tree is herbacious, not woody.

Maybe we should have some form of forum pub quiz to distract us through the long winter months...
 
5 Bags of Brazil nuts = 1 chest x-ray

I have measured a brazil nut. Although they will vary as will any organic matter, the brazil nut was quite leaping with it. 200 counts above background radiation. Coffee, cornflakes, seaweed (not always), shellfish and us can all be found to be radioactive.
 
Have you done the "drag the cornflakes around the bowl with a magnet" trick?

We used to refine the iron out of them to get iron filings. There is enough to be attracted to a magnet if they are floating (in milk or water).

I need to get out more.
 
Have you done the "drag the cornflakes around the bowl with a magnet" trick?

We used to refine the iron out of them to get iron filings. There is enough to be attracted to a magnet if they are floating (in milk or water).

I need to get out more.

No lol I've never done that.
 
a brazil nut = 20,000 baked beans
 
now you have put me off my breakfast, bananas with cornflakes, !

No what should put you off your cornflakes is the allowable amount of insect matter per box mmmmmmm yummy. Course there's the bird poop on it too ..... But that gets burnt off in the process - or turns into ceramic lol
 
I have measured a brazil nut. Although they will vary as will any organic matter, the brazil nut was quite leaping with it. 200 counts above background radiation. Coffee, cornflakes, seaweed (not always), shellfish and us can all be found to be radioactive.

And Cornish honey? (as opposed to that from anywhere else)
I know the rocks are 'hotter' than most (and basements need venting, etc), but does much transfer?
 
It would be interesting to wield a geiger counter at it. I seem to recall radon is the cause of the radioactivity there, and it's not biologically active. I mean, it is not used by biological things, so will only get stuck in honey if its dissolved (like nitrogen in your blood stream), or trapped in air bubbles in the honey.

It has a pretty racy half-life (days, not years) so the jar would quickly cease to be radioactive quite quickly, once the source of radon had been stopped.

It's formed from thorium and uranium (do not recall the isotopes, sorry) so in theory if you had either of them in your honey they would decay to form radon.

My guess would be that it's at such small amounts to be undetectable above background. A man with a geiger counter could prove my guess right or wrong. In any event, don't lose sleep over it!
 

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