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Radium 226 sample found at Tokyo residence

23 Comments

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology confirmed Friday that a small amount of radium 226 had been found in a container in a residence in Higashiyama in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.

A ministry spokesperson was quoted by Fuji TV as saying that the resident, a woman who has lived in the building for a long time, found the substance in a metal container in a wooden box in a storeroom in the building.

After she reported unexpectedly high levels of radiation emanating from the box on Oct 31, the ministry sent a radiation expert to the property to inspect the container and found that it contained a small piece of radium 226 measuring around 3mm in diameter and 2cm in length. The ministry said the surface of the box measured 250 microsieverts per hour, but that the amount dropped to 6 microseiverts at a distance of one meter, Fuji TV reported.

According to experts, the shape of the sample suggests it was originally for medical use. According to the ministry, the owner of the property was not aware of the contents of the box, which she said had been in the storeroom for around 50 years.

A ministry spokesperson said that the health of nearby residents was not affected by the radium.

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23 Comments
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imagine what kind of samples you could find on gaien higashi dori on a sunday morning, surely something more lethal than this

3 ( +5 / -2 )

How on earth did this woman know the area had unexpectedly high levels of radiation? Did she have a geiger counter?

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

smithinjapan,just what I was thinking.Has the government created a panic situation that all japanese are buying geiger counters for home use. imagine "yes madam they're on the shelf between the ovens and the food mixers"

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yes the coolest moms at the Yochien have Geiger counters (the very expensive ones) and the are checking everything on their way. Its a good thing since thats the way we found many hot spots at the playground.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Expect many more of such finds, now they everybody is buying Geiger counters. Probably a good side effect of the Fukushima scare.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Expect many more of such finds, now they everybody is buying Geiger counters. Probably a good side effect of the Fukushima scare.

@ WilliB - agree there mate. The Japanese government, companies and assorted bureaucrats around the country must be terrified that the citizens are finally unearthing some of their cover-ups from over the years...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Did she have a geiger counter?

Umm - yes.

thats the way we found many hot spots at the playground.

No way can you finish this comment like that. You have to tell us more.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I have my Geiger counter / dosimeter on me at all times. i bought them for my family as well. We are really happy when the alarm isn't going off. You can get these strips you can put on your car window and if it changes color then you know when you are passing through a hot zone. Always wash your car and clothes immediately.

-1 ( +3 / -5 )

She didn't check what's in her storeroom for 50 years?! What's this-gomi yashiki?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I suppose that, although it's a very minor positive side effect of the nuclear disaster, people are starting to discover forgotten radioactive materials.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I have my Geiger too and it finds things all the time. Right after the meltdown last year I bought stock in Geiger counter companies. Did you?

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

1 BurakuminDesNov. 12, 2011 - 03:16PM JST

@ WilliB - agree there mate. The Japanese government, companies and assorted bureaucrats around the country must be terrified that the citizens are finally unearthing some of their cover-ups from over the years...

Correct me if I'm wrong Des, but so far the public detection of radiation hot-spots have not resulted from things that have been 'covered-up' - we've had fallout from Fukushima Dai-ichi, luminous paint in a bottle, natural Radon gas, and now a misplaced sample of Radium 226.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

BTW, Radium 226 - Alpha Particle emitter, half-life 1600 years. As long as the bar was intact, and little or no fine particles were in evidence the lady should be fine.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Expect many more of such finds, now they everybody is buying Geiger counters. Probably a good side effect of the Fukushima scare.

It certainly made the Geiger counter manufacturers happy. Kidding aside, it IS a good thing to find these concentrated sources of radiation. A lot of them would never have been found even if the government had done a complete sweep of the island. There are some places only the owners could go and detect things. Places like old storerooms need to be thoroughly checked because some of these hazardous materials weren't recognized as hazardous "back in the day".

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The Japanese government, companies and assorted bureaucrats around the country must be terrified that the citizens are finally unearthing some of their cover-ups from over the years...

Which ones are those? I haven't heard of anything "unearthed" yet that was a government cover-up. Can you give examples?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Has the government created a panic situation that all japanese are buying geiger counters for home use.

Not all Japanese, just some. And it was the explosion at the nuclear power plant that made people want to buy Geiger counters rather than the government creating a panic situation, surely.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Which ones are those? I haven't heard of anything "unearthed" yet that was a government cover-up. Can you give examples?

Yep - just read the history of the Nuclear industry in Japan. You will find hundreds of examples of things brushed under the carpet and covered up.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@DentShop , since we live inside the so called kashiwa-misato hot spot, finding micro hot spots around the yochien wasnt a surprIse, the rain drains, the end of the suberidai, slopy corners of the playground and places where dry leaves and dust tend to gather measured higher then the average 0.26 that the rest of the kinder had. Some places got up to 6 microsv , all that places were decontaminated ,the soil removed but still the sand box remains closed , our kids dont play much outside and the Undokai was held in the city sport center. The parents can choose to keep with the obento catering ( we get a monthly report of the origin of all ingredients) or to send a home made luch box, and to allow or not the kids to drink milk or yakult.Also since the earthquake we were asked to send a water bottle daily.Our kinder is very old but proactive indeed, the PTA plays a big role and we are very confident that they want to protect the children as much as we do. The new posh kinder close to ours, sent a notification to the parents saying that they wont aloud parents checking for radiation and that all activities will remain the same.Two sides of the same coin.@Moderator ,im sorry i know is offtopic but just wanted to explain what the kinder moms are doing with their GC.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

BurakuminDes

Yep - just read the history of the Nuclear industry in Japan. You will find hundreds of examples of things brushed under the carpet and covered up.

Can't have been very well covered up then. Besides, you said:

citizens are finally unearthing some of their cover-ups from over the years

Suggesting they've happened recently, and in response to a post about Geiger Counter sales too - suggesting the cover-ups were brought to light by citizens' use of Geiger Counters.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Since the Fukushima reactor accident, the government has widened the area where it performs spot checks for radiation, and these heretofore unknown hot spots have popped up in Tokyo. So far none of the discoveries would appear hazardous to human health, except perhaps to those in immediate proximity to the sources.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Interesting that my purely factual statement at Nov. 12, 2011 - 10:49PM JST has just now garnered two thumbs down after my second response to BurakuminDes. Do the owners of the thumbs want to comment on the facts?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Ah, welcome to the era of anonymous cowardice I guess.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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