American Chemical Society, Dec. 9, 2013: As the Fukushima crisis continues to remind the world of the potential dangers of nuclear disposal and unforeseen accidents, scientists are reporting progress toward a new way to detect the radioactive materials uranium and plutonium in waste water. Their report on the design of a highly sensitive nanosensor appears in ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. […]
ACS Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions Podcast, Dec. 9, 2013: Today’s solution is a new way to detect the radioactive materials uranium and plutonium in waste water. As the Fukushima crisis continues to remind the world of the potential dangers of nuclear disposal and unforeseen accidents, scientists are reporting the design of a highly sensitive nanosensor that could detect even the smallest radiation leaks in nuclear waste water. The report appears in ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Jorge Seminario, Ph.D., points out that it’s highly likely that radioactive uranium and plutonium have leaked into the soil and groundwater near nuclear facilities. This contamination poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. […] >> Listen to the report here
Professor Vladimir Kuznetsov, advisory board member of Russia’s state-owned nuclear monopoly, in 2011: “In all likelihood, fuel at the second reactor is melting and burning through the reactor containment and may get into the ocean and soil […] The seeping of plutonium into soil and water is the most dangerous thing that can happen. Ocean currents may carry it around the world, and nobody knows whether it ends up inside fish or on a beach.”