Tag: radiation

New Year’s Eve Conspiracy Theories? Government Agency Issues Statement On Low-Flying Helicopters Spotted Over Las Vegas

In anticipation of the potential spread of conspiracy theories, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has alerted the public to its plans to fly DOE helicopters over the Las Vegas Strip, as it plans to search for nuclear radiation leading up to this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration.

Part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), the Aerial Measuring System (AMS) will monitor the strip and surrounding areas for signs of background radiation that could point to a potential threat to the over 400,000 visitors expected to crowd the street during the annual holiday gathering.

“NNSA is making the public aware of the upcoming flights so citizens who see the low-flying aircraft are not alarmed,” the agency explained in June.

DOE Helicopters Create Radiation Map to Spot Anomalies

In a statement detailing the operation, the agency said that the flights, which began on Monday, will continue through Wednesday night’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. During each flight, the agency’s equipment-packed helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft fly directly over the 4.2-mile-long stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, often referred to as “The Strip.”

“The public may see a Leonardo AW-139 helicopter, which is equipped with radiation-sensing technology,” the agency previously explained, adding that the helicopter will fly at “relatively low levels.”

During the Wednesday evening New Year’s Eve event known as “America’s Party,” Las Vegas authorities will close down The Strip to all vehicle traffic. At its peak, authorities will be responsible for the safety of hundreds of thousands of people as they watch an eight-minute-long firework show and an extended LED drone show.

According to the agency’s website, the DOE helicopters fly in a grid-like pattern at low altitudes of 150 to 300 feet and at an average speed of 80 miles per hour. The agency also noted that all flights of the DOE helicopters are conducted during daylight hours “to identify any unexpected radiation sources that might pose a threat during the event.”

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‘Her legs turned blue’: Nuclear plant radiation led to 12-inch blood clot in teen’s hip and deadly complications after she played in nearby creek, lawsuit says

An Ohio teenager died from complications of a bone marrow transplant after developing a “rare” genetic condition caused by radiation from a nuclear plant she lived by, her mother says in a lawsuit. The teen was diagnosed with a 12-inch blood clot in her hip and blood clots in her lungs before she died.

“Cheyenne Dunham, from birth until she was a teenager, regularly consumed food grown in a garden within close proximity to [the nuclear plant], including corn, tomatoes and beans,” lawyers for Cheyenne’s mother say in a 52-page legal complaint. “Cheyenne Dunham lived from age 4 or 5 until she was a teenager … in close proximity to [the nuclear plant]. At this home, Cheyenne Dunham played in a creek and ingested creek water.”

Cheyenne’s mother, Julia Dunham, is suing Centrus Energy in a wrongful death case for her 19-year-old daughter’s death in 2015. Julia became the administrator of Cheyenne’s estate in October and filed her complaint against Centrus Energy in late November. She says radiation from the company’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, referred to as PORTS, led to Cheyenne’s condition and health problems.

Officials shut down the plant in 2001 due to environmental concerns, including the proximity of a school just two miles away and numerous nearby homes.

On May 13, 2019, Zahn’s Corner Middle School in Piketon was “suddenly closed” after “enriched uranium” was detected inside the building, according to Julia Dunham’s complaint. Cheyenne was a student there for three years, from fourth through sixth grade.

“While at Zahn’s Corner, Cheyenne was exposed to radionuclides in excess of federal regulatory limits,” the complaint alleges. “She was also exposed to radionuclides in the Piketon community.”

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Fallout From Chernobyl Might Be Creating A New Kind Of Dog

Dogs are humanity’s best friend, and this is partially because we’ve bred them to better suit our preferences and needs. The Alaskan Malamute and Komondor, for example, were intentionally bred to serve specific roles (pulling sleds across the Arctic and guarding sheep from predators, respectively, in these two cases). It’s not just breeding that can produce new types of dogs, though. The harrowing damage to the ecosystem left in the infamous Chernobyl disaster’s wake may be contributing, too.

The April 1986 calamity caused ecological damage so severe that it will continue to scar the land for generations to come. In fact, according to Time, the director of the Chernobyl plant, Ihor Gramotkin, has stated that it would be “at least 20,000 years” before the plant’s immediate area would be safe again. The dangers of radiation exposure are severe, and the further scientists are able to study animals that live in the wider area, the better they can understand those effects. The local dog population has been regularly exposed for some time, as they shelter in the dangerously radioactive Semikhody train station. The area is still extremely hazardous, and Russian military activity throughout the exclusion zone could have far-reaching effects.

A 2023 study published on ScienceAdvances titled “The dogs of Chernobyl: Demographic insights into populations inhabiting the nuclear exclusion zone” investigated the DNA of some of these dogs and found that “genome-wide profiles from Chernobyl, purebred and free-breeding dogs, worldwide reveal that the individuals from the power plant and Chernobyl City are genetically distinct.”

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After Massive Shrimp Recalls, the FDA Finds Radioactive Contamination in Spices Too

Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.

That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.

Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:

What is cesium 137?

Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.

What have U.S. officials found?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.

The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.

This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.

What are the health risks?

No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.

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Radioactive metal at Indonesia industrial site may be linked to shrimp recall

Contaminated metal at an industrial site in Indonesia may be the source of radioactive material that led to massive recalls of imported frozen shrimp, international nuclear safety officials say, as efforts are underway to halt more U.S.-bound shipments.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that officials are in “constant contact” with Indonesian nuclear regulators who have detected Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, at a processing plant that sent millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S.

“Preliminary information suggests that it may have originated from activities at a metal melting facility at the same industrial site or from the disposal of scrap metal junk to other areas of the site,” IAEA spokesperson Fredrik Dahl said in an email.

No U.S. investigators have been sent to the site in Serang, west of Jakarta, federal officials said.

Meanwhile, the company that exported the shrimp, PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, also known as BMS Foods, has recalled more than 300 shipping containers that were already on their way to the U.S., Dahl said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned last month that Cesium-137 was detected in shipping containers sent to four U.S. ports, and in a sample of imported frozen shrimp. That spurred multiple recalls of shrimp sold at Walmart, Kroger and other stores.

This week, additional recalls were issued by Tampa Maid Foods LLC, of Florida, for breaded butterfly shrimp sold under Admiral of the Fleet, Portico Seafood Classic and other labels.

None of the shrimp that triggered alerts or tested positive for Cesium-137 was released for sale, the FDA said. But other shipments sent to stores may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed the products to become contaminated, the agency said.

The risk appears to be small, but the shrimp could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of Cesium-137 over time, FDA officials said.

The FDA issued an import alert for shrimp from BMS Foods to stop the products from coming into the U.S.

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European nations dumped 200,000 barrels of radioactive waste in the ocean, and humans might soon pay the price

A team of scientists has found 3,355 barrels of radioactive waste at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery was made at a depth of 13,000 feet, and hundreds of miles offshore from France. This is only a tiny part of the actual number of barrels filled with nuclear waste scattered at the bottom of the sea. Between 1946 and 1990, over 200,000 such barrels were dumped by European nations, assuming it was the best way to keep people on land safe. This was done under the supervision of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), a body comprising 34 countries that is tasked with ensuring nuclear safety and waste management. But now there are fears that this waste can reach humans via the food chain. Scientists have warned that this radioactive material could be absorbed by marine life, which can enter sea creatures and then humans who eat the contaminated seafood. This could cause long-term health issues, damage tissues, and increase the risk of cancer.

The barrels are not capable of holding the contents inside them forever. They were designed to release the radioactive material slowly, but surely. They had a life span of 20 to 26 years, and that time is already gone. So what next? The French scientists are on a mission to understand what would happen to these barrels. In the first leg, they used sonar and the autonomous underwater robot UlyX to map the Abyssal Plains. They said that most of the radioactive material in these barrels is weak and does not pose any immediate risk to humans since it is deep inside the ocean. However, this does not mitigate the long-term effects, which include contaminating marine life and entering the food chain. About one-third of the material in these barrels was tritium, which is considered insignificant. The rest are beta and gamma emitters, which lose radioactivity, with about two per cent being alpha radiation.

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New Recall of Potentially Radioactive Cocktail Shrimp in 27 US States

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Aug. 28 a new recall of cocktail shrimp sold in Walmart stores across 27 states for potential contamination due to being prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions where they may have become contaminated with cesium-137 (Cs-137).

Seattle-based AquaStar (USA) Corp is recalling approximately 26,460 6-ounce packages of cocktail shrimp, imported from Indonesia, and sold between July 31 and Aug. 16.

The states in which they have been sold are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin,

A day earlier, on Aug. 27, the FDA issued a similar recall warning for frozen cooked shrimp sold across 17 states. In that instance, the importer, Aquastar, had recalled approximately 18,000 bags (net weight 2 pounds) of Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp.

Both recalls are an expansion of recent recalls by Walmart and other distributors.

Cs-137 is a man-made radioisotope of the extremely reactive metal cesium, the FDA said.

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FDA Warns About Potentially Radioactive Frozen Shrimp Sold at Walmart Stores

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday issued a public warning against potentially radioactive frozen shrimp products sold at Walmart stores in several states.

The FDA alert urged the public not to consume, sell, or serve certain Great Value raw frozen shrimp due to possible contamination with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope.

Impacted Shrimp Products

Walmart also shared the FDA’s warning on its website.

The impacted raw frozen shrimp products were sold under the Great Value brand at stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.

The impacted products have been stamped with lot codes 8005540-1, 8005538-1, and 8005539-1.

They also have Best by Dates of 3/15/2027.

What is Cesium-137?

Cesium-137, also referred to as Cs-137, is a radioactive isotope of cesium that is man-made through nuclear reactions, according to the FDA. The agency says because Cs-137 is “widespread worldwide,” trace amounts of the radioisotope can be found in soil, food, and the air.

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Startup Says It Can Transform Mercury into Gold

A Californian startup, Marathon Fusion, aims to produce gold through nuclear fusion by converting mercury-198 into gold-197 using neutron radiation from fusion reactors. Unlike particle accelerators like CERN’s Large Hadron Collider—which produce negligible amounts of gold at enormous costs—Marathon Fusion proposes using a standard fusion reactor fuel mix (deuterium and tritium) to create the necessary neutron flux, theoretically enabling substantial gold production. Their estimates, derived from a fusion reactor’s “digital twin,” suggest a plant could yield several tons of gold annually per gigawatt of thermal power. However, the feasibility of this process remains untested, as no commercial fusion reactors exist, and the gold produced would initially be radioactive, requiring careful management. Significant scientific, technological, and economic challenges must be addressed before this ambitious concept can lead to a modern-day gold rush.

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Radioactive Wasp Nest Discovered Near South Carolina Nuclear Weapon Facility

A radioactive wasp nest has been discovered near a former nuclear weapon manufacturing facility in South Carolina.

The nest was found by workers at the Savannah River Site in Aiken County, according to a report from the Department of Energy.

According to reports, the contaminated nest was found on July 3, just before 2 p.m., by Radiological Control Operations workers during routine inspections.

Located on a stanchion near a tank in the F-Area tank farm, the nest registered a staggering 100,000 disintegrations per minute (dpm), a level described as “moderately high” radiation.

Workers promptly sprayed the nest to eliminate the wasps, which were then bagged and disposed of as radiological waste.

The Associated Press reports:

The report said there is no leak from the waste tanks, and the nest was likely radioactive through what it called “onsite legacy radioactive contamination” from the residual radioactivity left from when the site was fully operational.

The watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch said the report was at best incomplete since it doesn’t detail where the contamination came from, how the wasps might have encountered it and the possibility there could be another radioactive nest if there is a leak somewhere.

Knowing the type of wasp nest could also be critical — some wasps make nest out of dirt and others use different material which could pinpoint where the contamination came from, Tom Clements, executive director of the group, wrote in a text message.

Thankfully, no contamination was detected in the surrounding ground or area, but the very presence of radioactive insects highlights the persistent threats from “onsite legacy contamination” tied to the site’s history of producing plutonium and tritium for nuclear bombs during the Cold War era.

“I’m as mad as a hornet that SRS didn’t explain where the radioactive waste came from or if there is some kind of leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of,” Clements told AP.

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