4 ms·

> "Considered" by whom? German and EU authorities. > What are the actual levels? How do they compare to the radioactivity of other foods? http://www.sueddeut

by creshal 11y ago

> "Considered" by whom? German and EU authorities. > What are the actual levels? How do they compare to the radioactivity of other foods? http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/hohe-radioaktive-werte-wildschweine-sind-weiterhin-verstrahlt-1.1621865 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/hohe-radioaktive-werte-wil... Legal levels are <400 Bq/kg for baby food and 600 Bq/kg for other foods; contamination in these cases ranges from 1000 to 10000 Bq/kg.

Avshalom 11y ago
A banana hangs out at ~30000 Bq/kg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose
- creshal 11y ago
  Allowable intake levels are different for different isotopes. Potassium has a biological half life of a few hours, Caesium (the isotope in question here), of several weeks. The FDA apparently doesn't even bother with regulating allowable Potassium-40 levels due to this.
  - AstralStorm 11y ago
    Which is why you shouldn't use Bq/kg and instead use Sieverts. It's not that bad, human body can get rid of caesium-131 etc. pretty well via kidneys. The main problem was radioiodide which accumulates in thyroid and parathyroid glands and super heavy isotopes which are chemically dangerous, e.g. plutionium and uranium - but these do not disperse far at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert - Recommended reading, has a handy table. Fukushima doesn't even register as dangerous in there, equivalent to about 3 full CT scans. Data from Chernobyl is scarce, but I'd suspect 4x that value due to more retained isotopes.
vonmoltke 11y ago
The US FDA thinks 1000 Bq/kg for Cs-137 is just fine.[1] Browsing around, I have seen other sources that go higher. I am not knowledgeable enough to know if one or both of those limits is overly conservative. Considering my experience with other food safety limits, I would say they probably are. [1] http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/UCM074576 http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyG...
- creshal 11y ago
  > The US FDA thinks 1000 Bq/kg for Cs-137 is just fine.[1] "Fine" in the sense of "just below the limit of 1200". Even by FDA standards, 10000 Bq/kg Cs-137 is extremely high.

by creshal 11y ago

Avshalom 11y ago

A banana hangs out at ~30000 Bq/kg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

creshal 11y ago
Allowable intake levels are different for different isotopes. Potassium has a biological half life of a few hours, Caesium (the isotope in question here), of several weeks. The FDA apparently doesn't even bother with regulating allowable Potassium-40 levels due to this.
- AstralStorm 11y ago
  Which is why you shouldn't use Bq/kg and instead use Sieverts. It's not that bad, human body can get rid of caesium-131 etc. pretty well via kidneys. The main problem was radioiodide which accumulates in thyroid and parathyroid glands and super heavy isotopes which are chemically dangerous, e.g. plutionium and uranium - but these do not disperse far at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert - Recommended reading, has a handy table. Fukushima doesn't even register as dangerous in there, equivalent to about 3 full CT scans. Data from Chernobyl is scarce, but I'd suspect 4x that value due to more retained isotopes.

vonmoltke 11y ago

The US FDA thinks 1000 Bq/kg for Cs-137 is just fine.[1] Browsing around, I have seen other sources that go higher. I am not knowledgeable enough to know if one or both of those limits is overly conservative. Considering my experience with other food safety limits, I would say they probably are. [1] http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/UCM074576 http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyG...

creshal 11y ago
> The US FDA thinks 1000 Bq/kg for Cs-137 is just fine.[1] "Fine" in the sense of "just below the limit of 1200". Even by FDA standards, 10000 Bq/kg Cs-137 is extremely high.