Japan’s Radioactive Releases Could Go On For Months

Nuclear experts say radioactive releases of steam from damaged reactors could continue for months.

Pentagon officials reported Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates — still being analyzed, but presumed to include cesium-137 and iodine-121 — suggesting widening environmental contamination…

Japanese reactor operators now have little choice but to periodically release radioactive steam as part of an emergency cooling process for the fuel of the stricken reactors that may continue for a year or more even after fission has stopped. The plant’s operator must constantly try to flood the reactors with seawater, then release the resulting radioactive steam into the atmosphere, several experts familiar with the design of the Daiichi facility said.

That suggests that the tens of thousands of people who have been evacuated may not be able to return to their homes for a considerable period, and that shifts in the wind could blow radioactive materials toward Japanese cities rather than out to sea.

As workers continue to be exposed to radiation, it’s not known how toxic the released steam is, the effect it will have on the environment, and how far and wide that effect will be experienced.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.