Mitigating Toxicity in Soils and Produce

Historic Perspectives From Chernobyl and Fukushima

BackgroundFocus on radioactive fallout:● 2000 open air nuclear detonations since

1945 including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.● At least 99 accidents at nuclear power plants

including Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011)

● 56 of the 99 accidents occurred in the U.S.● One documented nuclear explosion in the

northeast (1954, St Lawrence Seaway)● There are 5 operating aged civilian nuclear

power plants in Northeast United States.

"Mitigation" DefinedMitigation of radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents and nuclear events in the context of 'organic' farming management practices must include an understanding of physical, social and economic parameters. The best 'mitigation' is avoidance. Absent avoidance, mitigation of toxic effects from any source cannot take place without existing baseline evaluations and context. In other words "mitigation" begins with good, current, applied knowledge.

Baseline Radioactivity and ToxicityEPA Standards: NORMAL (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials): Heavy Elements; Uranium (2 ppm), Thorium, Radon (gas), Light elements including Potassium-40, Considered "safe", unless concentrated.

TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Elements): Same as above but in concentrate: "Unsafe". Source, mine tailings, landfills, fuelstock, weapons.

Measurements:Radioactive emissions:Alpha, beta, gamma, : Decaying unstable isotopes of elements, shedding energy and mass, transforming over time ('half-life' unit) to a steady state, stable condition. Some elements undergo transmutations to other elements.Uranium-238 (Half Life 4.5 Billion Years) decays to a steady state eventually through Thorium, Polonium, to Lead-206 Sheds alpha particles, weakly radioactive.

Radiation emissions and dosage units are energy measurements over time.

Density and type, distance from radioactive materials determines effect in conventional modeling. Units are:

RadsRoteogens RemsSieverts (Becquerels)

Primary Radioactive Isotopes in Nuclear Fallout

● Iodine-131 ● Cesium-137● Strontium-90● Plutonium-238

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iodine-131Iodine-131 (131I), also called radioiodine (though many other radioactive isotopes of this element are known), is an important radioisotope of iodine. It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days. It is associated with nuclear energy, medical diagnostic and treatment procedures, and natural gas production. It also plays a major role as a radioactive isotope present in nuclear fission products, and was a significant contributor to the health hazards from open-air atomic bomb testing in the 1950s, and from the Chernobyl disaster, as well as being a large fraction of the contamination hazard in the first weeks in the Japanese nuclear crisis.

Cesium-137Cesium-137, or radiocaesium, is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed as a fission product by nuclear fission.

DecayIt has a half-life of about 30.17 years

Health risk of radioactive caesiumCaesium-137 reacts with water producing a water-soluble compound (caesium hydroxide), and the biological behavior of caesium is similar to that of potassium and rubidium. After entering the body, caesium gets more or less uniformly distributed throughout the body, with higher concentration in muscle tissues and lower in bones.

Strontium-90Strontium-90 (90Sr) is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission with a half-life of 28.8 years. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine and industry and is an isotope of concern in fallout from nuclear weapons and nuclear accidents.[2]

Natural strontium is nonradioactive and nontoxic, but 90Sr is a radioactivity hazard.Strontium has four stable, naturally occurring isotopes: 84Sr (0.56%), 86Sr (9.86%), 87Sr (7.0%) and 88Sr (82.58%).

Biological ActivityStrontium-90 is a "bone seeker" that exhibits biochemical behavior similar to calcium, the next lighter group 2 element. After entering the organism, most often by ingestion with contaminated food or water, about 70–80% of the dose gets excreted. Virtually all remaining strontium-90 is deposited in bones and bone marrow, with the remaining 1% remaining in blood and soft tissues. Its presence in bones can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia.

Plutonium-238Plutonium-238 is a radioactive isotope of plutonium with a half-life of 87.7 years

Reactor-grade plutonium from spent nuclear fuel contains various isotopes of plutonium. Pu-238 makes up only a percent or two, but may be responsible for much of the short-term decay heat because of its short half-life..

FROM 1945-2012 ATOMIC ENERGY GENERATION, WEAPONSDEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURE AND TESTING HAS SPREAD RADIOACTIVE DEBRIS OVER THE ENTIRE GLOBE.

NEW MAN MADE RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES AND "TENORM" CONTAMINATION IS SPREAD WIDELY AND FOUND IN NEARLY EVERY LOCATION IN MEASURABLE CONCENTRATIONS.

Three Mile IslandIn March 1979 the nuclear generating station located on Three Mile Island, PA on the Susquehanna River. A partial meltdown of one of the nuclear reactor cores triggered a release of radioactive gases and water into the surrounding environment. The cause was partly mechanical and partly the result of a 'human to computer' communication failure causing critical errors in response. Public confidence in nuclear power plummeted. The "Atoms for Peace" program faltered.

Chernobyl, Ukraine 1986In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power generator suffered a catastrophic meltdown of a reactor core, triggering a major explosion which sent radioactive materials into the atmosphere. This event is considered the worst nuclear accident in history.

MITIGATION EFFORTLocalRegionalInternationalSustainable

Siegfried and Uta Leubke, Austria 1986

Microbiologist farmers Siegfried and Uta Leubke pioneered the mitigation of radioactive fallout downwind of Chernobyl on their farm.

Excerpts from a 1989 Acres USA interview underscore the role of knowledge and intensive biologic farming techniques in mitigating uptake of radioactive iodine and cesium.

On the eve of May 1, TV reported the first information on the reactor catastrophe...In the wake of this news total headlessness prevailed. Chernobyl made us realize that a model was needed for interferences to be able to make conceptive measures as to what had to be done after a reactor accident. Vegetables grown in the open field were banned from the market, at the same time, milk, meat- in short, all non-storable foods-were subjected to strict controls. In no time all the produce grown and produced before Chernobyl sold out.

We were not allowed to sell the sheep cheese we produce and had to destroy it. We received a small compensation from the government for the loss. Milk from sheep is known for assimilating cesium especially fast...The consequences of this disaster were to become obvious much later: there was a high mortality rate for young sheep in the spring of the following year, and the newborn sheep showed malformations. Our losses of sheep were very high. The government offices kept working after the general hysteria died down.The levels of radioactivity kept diminishing slowly, as recorded with our instrument, but they stayed considerably above the level recorded months before on the same spot. Only by my accidently measuring the levels of radioactivity before the nuclear accident was I able to make comparisons- likely I was the only person in the agricultural field to have done so.

Solutions for agriculture were now heard from the experts. some recommendations were to shave the ground down to 30 cm of its top soil and to store the used up soil in earth rows. I studied the American recommendations for measures in agriculture after a nuclear accident (Agricultural Handbook Number 395). To store these enormous amounts of soil in earth rows would have been technically impossible... On February 26 another official appeared at our farm and again took samples of the root vegetables still available. The vegetables were to be tested for cesium-- Cs-134 and Cs-137--...We still had potatoes, carrots, black garden radishes and red beets stored....Three weeks later he returned with the results: the produce from our farm planted after the nuclear accident was free of cesium and the official informed us that this constituted an exception.

"I am pleased for you about the downright unbelievable fact that your samples and tests in regards to cesium has produced the result "NN" - not detectable. Perhaps your inorganic substance very rich soil has such a high absorbtive capacity that it binds all cations and with them the cesium especially well and that it releases them at such a slow rate that in a singular harvest the values will be very low. In any case it is very gratifying for your method"

FUKUSHIMAMarch 11, 2011 a 6.4 magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan triggered a tsunami wave which inundated the Tokyo Electric Nuclear Power Station at Fukushima, disabling the cooling system and causing the reactor containment and spent fuel storage system to fail, triggering explosive releases of radioactive materials into the atmosphere and contaminating the ocean. Fukushima prefecture was the breadbasket agricultural region for Tokyo.

Excerpts from Statement to the U.N. by Yuko Ouchi, Japanese Orchardist

“Observation from an orchard in Fukushima～Effects of the nuclear accident on women and children, and women-led actions for regeneration of farmland” March 11th, 2011

On the day of the earthquake, I was attacked by a strong shake in my orchard in a suburb of Fukushima city.Water, electricity, gas…all infrastructures completely stopped. In the dark and cold evening, I turned on the radio under a candle light, and heard the news reporting about the loss of electric power at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, which meant that the cooling system at the reactors was at risk.

Around the evacuation zone near the damaged plant, people were crying out with anger and despair for not being able to search for their loved ones swallowed up in the tsunami...

Fukushima, a rural prefecture, has been a provider of food and energy for the capital Tokyo since Japan’s modernization in the mid-19th century. Deep and strong anger lies in Fukushima which has always sacrificed itself for the prosperity of the capital and the nation.

The name FUKUSHIMA means “a land of prosperity with God’s blessing”. I believe that new visions for the world will be shown to those who go through sufferings, like new life and joy are promised after throes of creation. In this hardship, Fukushima was given a critical mission. Today, I am here to thank and apologize to everyone from around the world, and would like to share with you about current reality of Fukushima.

We, Japanese, sincerely thank you all for the strong support and encouragement. For this, we are empowered.

At the same time, we apologize to you all from our heart.TEPCO Fukushima Nuclear Plant has continued to contaminate water, air, and soil of the beautiful earth. We are determined to put our best effort to atone for this grave result...

This tragedy is, very regrettably, no longer an issue of one country because there are no national borders for radioactive contamination.I believe that Nuclear power, created by sacrifice of thousands of nuclear plant workers risking their life every day, will be abandoned in the near future as being a deadly and dangerous technology.

"What is going on with agriculture and produce in Fukushima after the nuclear accident?"

A Powerpoint Presentation by Hiroshi Hasegawa (Citizens’ Radioactivity Measuring Station (CRMS) and Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network (FOAN)) 2012

MITIGATION STRATEGIES● Avoidance● Physical Isolation and Removal,

Containment● Dispersion● Accumulation● Mineral and Biological Mitigation● Abandonment

AVOIDANCEMitigation begins with pre-emptive action to avoid the condition which creates catastrophe.

Avoidance of radioactive or other toxic contamination of the environment, including agricultural lands, includes engaged, proactive advocacy on behalf of communities impacted by potential harmful events. Avoidance means understanding potential risks and working to minimize them or eliminate them.

Credit: www.nrdc.org

Physical Isolation and Removal, Containment

Contaminated soils and vegetation are scraped off, windrowed, piled, contained and removed. This is recommended in areas of high contamination, public spaces and industrial settings.

This response is problematic in large areas, impractical or impossible in steep or variable terrain and counter productive on agricultural lands where intensive management practices can mitigate adverse impacts over time.

Containment requires subsequent mitigation of the waste.

DispersionMechanical or natural measures are employed to disperse the toxins to a less concentrated level.

Rain or flooding will disperse precipitated airborne toxins

Ploughing, tilling, harrowing, and cultivating decreased density of toxins at surface level and redistributes, burying toxic material except at the surface.

AccumulationBioaccumulation in vegetative material as a method of capturing, containment and removal has been employed extensively in Chernobyl:

Rafts of sunflowers floated over containment ponds accumulate radioactive elements in root and shoots. Plants are gathered and treated as hazardous waste, incinerated for energy production with harmful ash collected.

Rapeseed (Brassica, Canola) is cultivated, harvested and removed, used for energy production through combustion and harmful residues and ash collected and contained.

Mushrooms bioaccumulate cesium-137 and other radioactive elements in concentration. Wildcrafting edible mushrooms in fallout zones is therefore dangerous for this reason. Certain melanin rich varieties (black pigmented, soil-dwelling Cladosporium sphaerospermum and yeast like Wangiella dermatitidis varieties) appear to utilize ionizing radiation as a source of energy and thrive in its presence. Fungi have been observed thriving on the walls of the still highly radioactive reactors in Chernobyl.

Water filtration media captures toxins. Fukushima rice farmers utilize rice hulls, and other filtration media to capture cesium-137 washing into their paddys from the low hills and mountains, avoiding contamination in the growing rice and accumulating this toxin at the same time. Filtration media is then handled as a radioactive waste material.

Natural Zeolites are used extensively to absorb toxic particles.

Mineral and Biological MitigationMineral and biological materials associated with intensive biological farming practices have been shown to be successful in mitigating the uptake of radioactive isotopes such as cesium-137 in nuclear fallout zones.

Managing soil pH, soil type, porosity, hydrology, fertility and mineral profiles combined with management practices incorporating intensive microbiological activity mitigate adverse effects of radioactive contamination and limit or eliminate the systemic uptake and accumulation of radioactive materials in the plant tissue. Likewise, bioaccumulation of livestock can be avoided by practicing mitigation practices on pasture, grain production and in water.

TAKE NOTE:A determination of the feasibility to employ mitigation farming techniques must be accomplished in any given area where a toxic event has taken place. Nuclear or non-nuclear fallout zones are disaster areas by definition. Concentrations of toxic materials must be identified and toxic levels measured against baseline information.

Economic factors cannot be ignored. Consumers will not purchase produce from areas which are identified with toxic fallout events, no matter what practical mitigation measures are achieved. This is one lesson from Fukushima. A loss of consumer confidence will undermine any viable effort to mitigate the adverse effects from a toxic plume.

Biological Farming Mitigation Basics● Manage Soil pH. Extreme acid or caustic

environments encourage mobility of soil constituents, driving toxins into solution and encourage uptake systemically or migration into water table.

● Manage Nutrient Availability. Mitigating cesium-137 and strontium-90 uptake can be accomplished by ensuring adequate availability of potassium and calcium in the presence of microbial populations providing chelation and 'sorting' of available nutrients.

● Avoid Excessive Nitrogen Loading. Excessive nitrates will encourage the migration of toxins in solution, breaking bonds which immobilize these elements causing them to be taken up by rapidly growing vegetation.

● Avoid Excessive Humus. Excessive humic matter will encourage acidic conditions in soil. Composts should be well finished and cover crops turned and well incorporated before new plantings. Do not plant in 'hot' soils.

● Use Microbiology to Advantage. Lactic Acid Bacteria, Yeast, Phototrophic Bacteria, Fungi.

Mineralize, Remineralize. Utilize paramagnetic alkaline igneous silicate rock powders such as basalt, broad spectrum feldspars and hornblendes, reactive high energy limes such as calcium silicates and carbonatite, high energy clays such as montmorillonite, biotite, and those minerals which provide cation exchange such as the biotite vermiculite and the natural zeolites. Utilize minerals which function as molecular sieves: zeolite, magnetite, vermiculite (expanded biotite), rhyolite (expanded perlite) and bio-activated chars.Increase foundational fertility by direct incorporation into soils, top dressing, building into compost blends, fertigation, foliar feeding and in biodynamic preparations.

AbandonmentCatastrophic fallout events may require a decision to abandon prime agricultural farmland, livestock, house, home, possessions and livelihood. Dislocation is an unfortunate reality of catastrophic disaster involving toxic contamination. Mitigation of the adverse effects of heavily radioactive or chemically toxic fallout over agricultural land may be impossible, impractical, or economically ruinous. Abandonment may be required. Evacuation may be forced or optional, but the results are decisive.

DIRECT ACTION

Community Support and Interaction:Local, Regional, National, International

Create a working exchange group with Fukushima Farmers. Sustainable and Ongoing exchange of people, practices, technologies, advocacy, and culture. Do the same with other farming regions globally, nationally, regionally, locally.

Advocacy: Political, legislative, cultural, economic 'activism' and direct action.