A 1:00 pm sample swipe of the rain off the SUV returned a reading of 7X background radiation. It appears that the La Nina weather pattern is pushing the Southern Jetstream towards Saint Louis; the result is reduced fallout from Fukushima.
Since the corium hit Fukushima ground water in August, Radon and meltdown products have been moved towards North America via the Northern Jetstream. Rains from the Northern Jetstream have dumped short half life radiation with readings above 276 times greater than background radiation (2.76 mR/hr) on Saint Louis; The very same rains have also dumped long lasting radioactive fallout which continues to be detectable. At least one of the rains has had strong indications of the presence of Neptunium 239 (which quickly decays to Plutonium 239). There have also been previous indications of Iodine 133 / Xenon 133, however those detections have a greater uncertainty than previously thought.
It appears the La Nina weather pattern will be protective of the Saint Louis area, and points South) through out the winter. The primary Fallout risks will be from the encroachment of the Northern Jetstream, and the resultant snow/ice.
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So do you think, for the swipe method that you use, that 7-8x background is the normal level representing rainout of radon progeny present in the geology where you live?
ReplyDeleteAaron Datesman,
ReplyDeleteNo, long prior to Fukushima we had run the Inspector over the rain drops on the truck a few times and never had a noticeable up-tick in counts. After Fukushima we had an up-tick and used the "swipe" method to investigate further. Our best guess, using our method, anything over 4x is attributable to man-made causes.
If you look at the current jet stream map for Saint Louis you will see that our Southern Jetstream did co-mingle some what with the Northern Jetsteam on 12/13 west of Baja Mexico. Based on that, we would expect an up-tick in readings tonight or tomorrow (if it rains).
Oh, man, that's really something. It totally contradicts Be Well's contention that you're just measuring natural radon. I had not realized that you'd made measurements before 3/11; glad I asked.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm glad for the good news. Happy Holidays!
The pre-Fukushima sample size was small, but it was clear of the issues we readily detect now.
ReplyDeleteYears prior to Fukushima we always had an inkling to do more thorough baseline background tests. One of the reasons we did not develop a complete background radiation picture prior to Fukushima was because a long term, on going. fluctuating fallout event wasn't on our radar; but even if it had been, it's doubtful that we would have done truck swipe tests because that concept only crossed our mind as a result of finding hot rain drops on the truck.
Merry Christ-Mass, Memorable Miraculous Maccabees, Happy Holy Holidays, and a glorious governmental non-sectarian winter solstice break period to all.