How can cesium 137 be detonated

Internal exposure to Cs through ingestion or inhalation allows the radioactive material to be distributed in the soft tissues, especially muscle tissue, which increases cancer risk.

Skip to main content. Radiation Protection. Contact Us. Radionuclide Basics: Cesium On this page:. Cesium in the Environment Because Cs bonds with chlorides to make a crystalline powder, it reacts in the environment like table salt sodium chloride : Cesium moves easily through the air. Geochimica Et. Cosmochimica Acta 32 , Broadley, M.

Differences in root uptake of radiocaesium by 30 plant taxa. Absalom, J. Predicting soil to plant transfer of radiocesium using soil characteristics. Sanchez, A. High plant uptake of radiocesium from organic soils due to Cs mobility and low soil K content. Smolders, E. Concentrations of Cs and K in soil solution predict the plant availability of Cs in soils. Robison, W. The effect of potassium on the uptake of Cs in food crops grown on coral soils: coconut at Bikini Atoll. Fuller, A.

Caesium incorporation and retention in illite interlayers. Clay Sci. Pizzuto, J. Active overbank deposition during the last century, South River, Virginia. Geomorphology , — Belmont, P. Agency, U. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Public Health Service, Washington D. Salih, F. Measurement of cesium in foodstuffs. Food Qual. ICRP, Dose coefficients for non-human biota environmentally exposed to radiation.

ICRP Publication ICRP Colin, T. The development of honey bee colonies assed using a new semi-automated brood counting method: CombCount. Raines, K. Chernobyl-level radiation exposure damages bumblebee reproduction: a laboratory experiment. B , The effects of natural variation in background radioactivity on humans, animals and other organisms. Low-dose radiation, scientific scrutiny, and requirements for demonstrating effects.

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Kaste supervised the project design, sample collection, and gamma spectrometry analyses, Volante acquired samples, prepared samples for analysis, and assisted with gamma spectrometry, Elmore executed the geospatial analysis. All three authors assisted with interpretations writing, editing. Correspondence to J.

Peer review information Nature Communications thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contributions to the peer review of this work. Peer review reports are avialable. Reprints and Permissions. Bomb Cs in modern honey reveals a regional soil control on pollutant cycling by plants. Nat Commun 12, Download citation. Received : 08 September Accepted : 26 February Published : 29 March Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:.

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Advanced search. Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature. Download PDF. Some see only a "minuscule" rise in cancer rates, while others predict that huge sections of New York or Washington would become uninhabitable if such a bomb were ever to go off. All the experts stress that a "dirty bomb" is not the same as a nuclear weapon, which generates intense heat and radiation from splitting atoms, according to a statement from Rob Fanney and Jim Tinsley of defense watchdog Jane's Information Group.

A dirty bomb packs radioactive material inside or around conventional explosives, which are then detonated to spread the radioactive material. The most likely radioactive element in a dirty bomb is cesium, according to Phil Anderson, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And the "consensus government view," according to a March report in The Washington Post , is that al-Qaida "has probably acquired" the isotope, which has a half-life of 30 years.

Cesium is used to treat cancer and to maintain accurate atomic clocks. And it's created as a byproduct of nuclear reaction -- the splitting of uranium in a nuclear power plant, for example. As cesium "cools" from its radioactive to its normal state, the isotope emits gamma radiation, waves of ultra-high electromagnetic energy. Ask Yourself:. Washington, D. At noon, a loud explosion is heard near a downtown museum. The front of the building is essentially destroyed.

A minute later, emergency operators receive calls from the area and are informed that a huge explosion-scattering dust and debris-has occurred over the downtown area. Federal Aviation Administration FAA airport tower operators witness the explosion and report the blast to and to the FAA regional operations center.

The operator requests that further reports from the tower be made directly to the Washington, D. The Fire and Police Departments are notified and called to the scene. Within minutes, firefighters, police officers, and other emergency rescue teams arrive.

Upon arrival, the police evacuate the survivors and close the access roads to the area. The initial Incident Commander calls a second and third alarm due to the magnitude of the damage. Teams report that glass windows and partitions in all buildings within a one-block radius are shattered, inflicting additional damage and injury from glass shards.

At p. By p. The National Response Center is notified of the explosion and the possibility of radioactive fallout. An unidentified individual has called the paper and claimed to be with a terrorist organization responsible for setting off a nuclear device in Washington, DC.

The caller stated that additional "bombs" should be expected. The announcer notes that the police and FBI do not confirm this report and that they will make further announcements as information becomes available to them.

All of the major television networks follow with immediate bulletins "confirming that a terrorist organization has detonated an atomic bomb in the heart of Washington, D. As news of the explosion and the possibility of fallout release become widely known, people throughout the city panic and flee.

An immediate evacuation of the affected area is ordered. Because the mayor will be in direct communication with the President, he wants an update on evacuation, monitoring, and containment efforts as soon as possible. Based on the information received, the FBI believes that the device was a 1, to 2,pound conventional explosive laced with cesium It requests information about contamination levels around the city as soon as it is available to determine when FBI staff can access the site of the incident.

The FBI indicates that it would like to meet with representatives from the Police Department immediately in order to coordinate efforts in conducting the investigation. The mayor holds a news conference and indicates that he has declared a State of Emergency, and that an assessment and evacuation is in progress. Area residents who are not evacuated are asked to remain indoors. It is estimated that , people are affected by the evacuation.

Community health coordinators report that approximately half of the initial emergency responders have been exposed to radiation.