Tokyo Radiation Hotspot Linked To Old Bottles

TOKYO -- Japanese officials investigating a small radiation hotspot in Tokyo say it was caused by old bottles stored in the basement of an empty house, not the country's leaking nuclear power plant.

Tokyo's Setagaya city council had detected levels of radioactivity higher than those in the evacuation zone around the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant after concerned parents checking the neighborhood for radiation sought further tests. The plant is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo,

Mayor Nobuto Hosaka said Thursday the hotspot was most likely caused by a radioactive material in several old bottles in the house. He said radioactivity from the bottles exceeded the measurable limit on a low-dose radiation counter.

Science and education ministry inspectors believe the bottles contain radium, a radioactive material used in the past as self-luminous paint for watches, Kyodo News agency reported. It said the inspectors concluded that the radiation was not related to the Fukushima disaster because no cesium was detected in the bottles. Cesium is one of the main isotopes that leaked from the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant.

Police are investigating whether the bottles violated laws regulating possession of radioactive materials.

Officials say the radiation level at the hotspot did not present a health risk.

Comments

[Atoms4Peace1]

08:08 PM on 10/15/2011

What? Its not related to Fukushima? Come on now everything is related to Fukushima. LOL

You antinukes are tinkling in the wind and it came back and hit you in the face!

[trailerguy]

10:39 AM on 10/14/2011

Sounds fishy to me, the powers that be in Japan have downplayed the real fall out danger from the recent incident. I bet it is alot worse than we know. They are throwing their citizens under the bus.

[Joffan]

07:00 PM on 10/14/2011

Sounds like you have a strong case of confirmation bias running on this subject.

News which reinforces your pre-existing opinion, no evidence - accepted
News which contradicts your pre-exising opinion, low evidence - rejected
News which contradicts your pre-exising opinion, strong evidence - rejected as conspiracy

Result: disconnection from evidence-based reality assessment. Even if you happened to be right initially, you will quickly end up believing complete nonsense (because there is plenty of THAT commodity on the internet).

[trailerguy]

01:17 PM on 10/15/2011

sure the japanese have been totally above board, in fact why don't take vacation in fukushima. all i am saying that conditions in fukushima and surrounding area are probably alot worse than the locals are being told.

[Atoms4Peace1]

08:17 PM on 10/15/2011

Maybe they really sold the Libyans used pinball machine parts when they thought they were getting plutonium!

No, no, no, no, no. This sucker's electrical. But I need a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity I need.

[sillyfrog]

06:40 PM on 10/13/2011

That is all weird. And how did it not present a health risk?

[Joffan]

07:51 PM on 10/13/2011

Nobody in the house, no-one living on that particular piece of sidewalk. Walking by however many times a day wouldn't accumulate any signficant dose.

Hopefully the whole story of how the bottles got there will be known some day.