NUCLEAR FALLOUT                         

 

Ecuador had the least nuclear fallout from bomb testing (1945 to 1958) anywhere on earth.

 

The U.S. Public Health Service publication RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH DATA (Jan. 1960, near the apex of atmospheric nuclear bomb testing) compiled comparative figures on the total daily intake of Stontium 90 by various countries.

 

The comparative figures are as follows:

 

United States 15.4 microcuries (mc)

Germany 13.0 mc

United Kingdom 9.8 mc

Vietnam 8.3 mc

Japan 7.8 mc

Peru 2.8 mc

Ecuador 1.2 mc.

 

 

Dr. Norman French from the University of California published in December 1960 an article on the Amount of Strontium Radioactivity in Ecuador published in Ciencia y Naturaleza, the journal of the Natural Sciences Institute at Unversidad Central in Quito.

 

The Atomic Energy Commision (AEC) analyzed 45 samples of soil and 19 samples of beef cattle bone in 1958 and reported the following figures for Rainfall and Strontium 90 fallout:

 

Manta (Coast) 243 millimeters (mm), 1.8 mc (per square mile)

Esmeraldas (Coast) 822 mm, 1.6 mc

San Lorenzo 2797 mm, 1.6 mc

Quevedo 2484 mm, 5.5 mc

Santo Domingo 4015 mm, 2.7 mc

Aloag (Plateau) 940 mm, 1.6 mc

Quito 1364 mm, 1.4 mc

Calderon 960 mm, 0.6 mc

Guayllabamba 565 mm, 1.4 mc

Otavalo 1029 mm, 2.1 mc, Ibarra 743 m, 1.9 mc

Latacunga 272 mm, 1.4 mc, Ambato 472 mm, 0.7 mc

Banos 1249 mm, 0.5 mc

Puyo (Amazon, a short distance from Banos which is in the Andes) 3871 mm, 12.6 mc

 

The east side of the Andes mountains in the Amazon jungle has the highest levels of fallout proving that fallout moves from east to west and that high mountains block Strontium 90 and therefore other fallout particles from being deposited in the soil.

 

Samples of bone and soil collected in 1958 show highest values for Sr90 in the tropical region on the east side of the Andes.

 

Lowest values are found in the high central valley, where samples used in estimating world-wide distribution of fallout were collected.

 

If the major fallout deposition occurs in the interior of the South American continent, such estimates for these latitudes may be low by as much as a factor of ten.

 

Although there has apparently been greater Sr90 deposition in regions of greater rainfall, analysis of data from 16 locations fails to show a significant correlation between rainfall and fallout.

+++

 

Germany will shut down all their nuclear reactors by 2022

 

Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany has permanently shut down eight of its reactors and pledged to close the rest by 2022.^[1]                                                                              

 

The Italian Government put a one-year moratorium on its plans to revive nuclear power, following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents.^[22]

 

A further Italian nuclear power referendum was held on 13 June 2011, with a 54.79% turnout and 94% of the votes rejecting the use of Nuclear Power,^[23] leading to cancellation of any future nuclear power plants planned during the previous years.

                                                                      

Switzerland and Spain have banned the construction of new reactors.^[3]                                             

                                                         

Japan’s prime minster has called for a dramatic reduction in Japan’s reliance on nuclear power.^[4]                                                       

 

Taiwan’s president did the same.                                                    

 

Mexico has sidelined construction of 10 reactors in favor of developing natural-gas-fired plants.^[5]                                                             

 

Belgium is considering phasing out its nuclear plants, perhaps as early as 2015.

 

 

+++

Did you know?

In September, 1996 the United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits all "nuclear weapons test explosions and all other nuclear explosions."

 

As of September 1998, 150 nations had signed the treaty, and 21 nations had ratified it. Notable exceptions are India and Pakistan, both of which conducted nuclear tests in May, 1998. North Korea withdrew in 2003 and conducted 6 tests from 2006 to 2017.
 

 

+++

 

 

CALIFORNIA

Good News!

The San Onofre nuclear power plant has been shut down. On June 7, 2013, Southern California Edison announced it would "permanently retire" Unit 2 and Unit 3.