Following reports of abnormally high radiation readings
on a beach in San Francisco, experts have discovered radiation hot spots
measuring 1,400 per cent above normal background levels, although they
are keen to stress there is no link to Fukushima.
As we reported on Monday,
after a viral video emerged showing a man recording measurements of
over 150 micro-REM per hour, 500 per cent normal background radiation,
on a beach south of Pillar Point Harbor, San Mateo County officials
confirmed the spike but said they were “befuddled” as to the cause.
In a new development, El Granada electrical engineer
Steven Weiss, a 40 year veteran designer of Geiger counters, took his
own measurements and found hot spots that were returning levels 14 times
normal background radiation.
“It’s not normal. I’ve never seen 400 cpm when I just wave my Geiger around.” Weiss told the Half Moon Bay Review. “There has to be something radioactive for it to do that.”
After studying a dirt sample in a spectrum analyzer, the
substance was found to contain radium and thorium, which are both
naturally occurring radioactive elements. No evidence of cesium-137, the
fissile material used in the Fukushima reactors, was discovered,
leading Weiss to conclude that the radiation had no link to the nuclear
plant in Japan.
“There are reports that a pipeline was once at this location and oil pipelines can collect heavy radioactive minerals,” said Dan Sythe,
CEO for International Medcom, which designs and manufactures Geiger
Counters, adding that babies and young children should be kept away from
the beach, “to make sure they don’t inhale or eat the sand.”
Many were concerned that the radiation could be related to Fukushima because experts have concluded that the radioactive plume from the nuclear accident in March 2011 will reach U.S. coastal waters by early 2014.
As non-scientists, it remains difficult to ascertain the
true threat posed by the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Opinion seems to
be polarized, with some saying it represents a dire threat to humanity
while others, mainly those in positions of authority, downplaying the
issue as completely harmless.
The truth must obviously lie somewhere in between, but constant efforts to mislead the public on
behalf of both Japanese government and TEPCO officials by lying about
the true scale of the radiation release has only stoked suspicion. A recently passed law also imposes 10 year prison sentences on journalists who seek to obtain sensitive information about Fukushima.
The EPA’s horrendous role in
lying to the American people and tens of thousands of ground zero
workers in the weeks after 9/11, telling them that asbestos-laden air
was safe to breathe, has also created an environment of distrust when it
comes to public health concerns.
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