Harmful effects of plutonium radioactivity

Takahashi Sentaro, deputy director of the Kyoto University Reactor Research Institute, on NHK, analyzed the harmful effects of plutonium on the discovery of plutonium in the Fukushima nuclear power plant No. I.

Plutonium is a radioactive substance produced by uranium 239 or 235, and it emits radioactive rays called alpha rays. The characteristic of this alpha is that even if it attaches to the human skin, it does not penetrate directly into the human body but indirectly through contaminated or airborne foods.

Plutonium is detected in the Fukushima I factory premises

For example, in the case of plutonium 239, the half-life of this substance is very long, about 20,000 years. Therefore, once it is infected with the human body, it will continue to radiate at the place where it entered and therefore the likelihood of getting cancer is quite high.

The human body is capable of eliminating plutonium, so if contaminated, within a few months the amount of plutonium in the body will be halved. However, it is thought that plutonium is usually in the human body longer than radioactive iodine and cesium.

If there is no major nuclear accident in the future, the current amount of radiation does not pose a risk to human health or to the environment. But it must be recalled that the radioactive plutonium emanating from a nuclear test conducted by the US at Bikini Atoll was still discovered in waters off Japan. Therefore, if plutonium is leaked into seawater, it is necessary to monitor the amount of radioactivity in seafood for a long time.

Moreover, plutonium is not spread over a wide area, so it is very likely that plutonium concentrations in the Fukushima nuclear power plant I will be very high. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously monitor and tighten the radioactivity here, and at the same time, ensure the safety for workers working here by many measures, such as giving them protective masks, avoid eating and drinking in surrounding areas.