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Nuclear weapon test debris 'persists' in atmosphere
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25641310
7 January 2014
Nuclear weapon test debris 'persists' in atmosphere
By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service
Radioactive particles from nuclear tests that took place decades ago persist in the upper atmosphere, a study suggests.
Previously, scientists believed that nuclear debris found high above the Earth would now be negligible.
However this research shows that plutonium and caesium isotopes are still present at surprisingly high concentrations.
The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Lead author Dr Jose Corcho Alvarado, from the Institute of Radiation Physics at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, said: "Most of the radioactive particles are removed in the first few years after the explosion, but a fraction remains in the stratosphere for a few decades or even hundreds or thousands of years."
<snip>
The scientists also found that this material can be moved around in the atmosphere by natural events such as volcanic eruptions.
For example, in 2010 after Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, plutonium levels in the lower atmosphere increased.
<snip>
7 January 2014
Nuclear weapon test debris 'persists' in atmosphere
By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service
Radioactive particles from nuclear tests that took place decades ago persist in the upper atmosphere, a study suggests.
Previously, scientists believed that nuclear debris found high above the Earth would now be negligible.
However this research shows that plutonium and caesium isotopes are still present at surprisingly high concentrations.
The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Lead author Dr Jose Corcho Alvarado, from the Institute of Radiation Physics at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, said: "Most of the radioactive particles are removed in the first few years after the explosion, but a fraction remains in the stratosphere for a few decades or even hundreds or thousands of years."
<snip>
The scientists also found that this material can be moved around in the atmosphere by natural events such as volcanic eruptions.
For example, in 2010 after Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, plutonium levels in the lower atmosphere increased.
<snip>
Via https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNRC/posts/3798238611304
