Fukushima Nuclear Waste On California Coast

8.4 Bq/m^3 (which is the same as 8.4 mBq/litre, and it is easier to type).

So, what is the normal, pre-atomic age, like 1892 level of radioactivity in seawater? 13,000 mBq/litre, or more.

Put into perspective – by pointing out, and quantifying, the radioactive material that is already there, the man-made contamination that was there previously, and how low most of the affected areas of the oceans really are, perhaps we can diffuse the hysteria and panic. Really, some people’s health is adversely affected by worry that is far, far more detrimental than whatever contamination from Fukushima they might encounter.

The radioactive 137Caesium found in North Pacific waters near the coast of North America has been 0.5-3.0 mBq/litre from past bomb tests. Fukushima’s contribution, in the few places where it has been found, combined with the bomb residue, comes to 3-30 mBq/litre … the radioactive material in a cubic metre of seawater, without any contamination, is around 13,000 mBq/litre. That’s the natural portion.

If you had a chance to be a tourist in the Dead Sea, would you swim in it? I would. The excess salt makes a tremendous buoyancy. The Dead Sea has more than 183,000 mBq/litre of radioactive material in it. ” … found in the Persian Gulf (22 Bq/kg) [22,528 mBq/litre], the Red Sea (15 Bq/kg) [15,360 mBq/litre], and the eastern Mediterranean (14.6 Bq/kg) [14,950 mBq/litre]. ”The average activity (both natural and anthropogenic) for the world’s oceans is 13.6 Bq/kg water. [13,926 mBq/litre] More than 88% of this activity is due to the naturally occurring potassium isotope 40K [12,255 mBq/litre]”. P. Varskog 2003 Naturally occurring radionuclides in the marine environment – an overview of current knowledge with emphasis on the North Sea area Norse Decom AS http://www.forskningsradet.no/csstorage/vedlegg/radionuclides_marine_environment.pdf