Gardening considerations in the presence of nuclear fallout

[Stoneharbor]

I decided to make this a separate thread from the one on just "nuclear fallout" as that is introductory to the whole idea of how to protect ourselves from airborne contamination.

Once radiation gets into the soil and you are gardening with it as one of the minerals, what should you be aware of?

Here's a start:

ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp5-e...projsum_en.pdf

And some items mentioned therefrom:

Caesium (Cs), Strontium (Sr) and Technetium (Tc) are the elements considered, as (I guess) Iodine is not going to stay dangerous for long.

This was a study of the soil-binding and therefore "availability" of radionuclides of these elements.

What is of interest is the mobility of these radioactive elements once in the soil. Sure, they can just sit there, and radiate, and zap you as you weed. But how likely are they to get on, or in your food, bringing the radioactivity inside YOU? This is obviously something you really want to avoid.

Some things to remember:

1. Clay is your friend. It binds Cs and Sr better than other soils. Some binding can be quite strong for Sr, and irreversible (no adsorption therefore to your veggie roots!)
2. Microorganisms are your friend. Starting with a "mineral free" organic soil, Addition of clay minerals enhances radionuclide binding to soil in biotic systems but binding increase is very low in abiotic systems. The microorganisms responsible have been shown to be fungi, not bacteria. So its the fungi that are your friend.
3. Soil temperature affects the binding of these nuclides to the soil: "Such increase in radionuclide binding is temperature-dependent with an optimum around 15-20°C for Cs and 20-25°C for Sr. (And this was because of the temperature preference of the fungi.)

There's more to glean from the article, like the interaction of certain minerals in the soil with the binding process, both binding to the soil, and also adsorption to the plants you are growing. I just mention the high points to demonstrate that you can still take an active role in gardening against these heavier odds, and you can definitely expect the radiation to a large extent, to stay put in the ground and be stuck to the soil.

The article didn't mention this, but I would think, with the adsorption going on and being somewhat irreversible, that in case of a heavy fallout it might be advisable to till the soil right after. Both to "get some distance" but also to increase the possibility of adsorption to the soil particles, thus reducing the chance of binding to your plantings in all future seasons.

[Stoneharbor]

Another way to fight radioactive contamination in the soil is to plant vegetation to draw out the radionuclides.

This article talks about growing tomatoes (which you won't eat, but will discard the plants {at your local radioactive waste dump} after they have taken some of the radioactivity out of your precious soil). If you doctor the soil with certain strains of nonpathogenic fusarium you can cause more radioactivity to be absorbed in the tomatoes. A new definition of fallow crop?

http://www.riken.go.jp/lab-www/libra..._35/35_082.pdf

Its getting more and more important to "grow your own".

[Islander]

"...your local radioactive waste dump..." — what a splendid idea.

There are a thousand advantages to living where I do, but having a handy nearby radioactive waste dump is not, alas, one of them.

Given my age, and the time it takes typical cancers to develop, I'm simply not going to worry about a situation that seems to be increasingly out of my control. I found it interesting, BTW, that the immediate area around Chernobyl is presently heavily populated with all sorts of wildlife that seem to be thriving in a lush, abandoned ecosystem. I think I read that in National Geographic.

[Stoneharbor]

BTW, that the immediate area around Chernobyl is presently heavily populated with all sorts of wildlife that seem to be thriving in a lush, abandoned ecosystem. I think I read that in National Geographic.

Well, they did radionuclide testing of veggies grown in Chernobyl soil after the anomaly and it turns out that most of the absorption went into the skin of tubers, so if visiting, don't eat the skin (regardless of how old you are, Islander). I've heard that especially your younger friends will tend to shun you if you glow in the dark.

[mellowsong]

I found it interesting, BTW, that the immediate area around Chernobyl is presently heavily populated with all sorts of wildlife that seem to be thriving in a lush, abandoned ecosystem. I think I read that in National Geographic.

I just watched a program, I think on PBS about the wildlife around Chernobyl. When they actually counted, numbers were not anywhere near what would be normal. They also found vast numbers of various mutations. If I recall, larger animals had fewer mutations than did smaller.

[Islander]

I've heard that especially your younger friends will tend to shun you if you glow in the dark.

But think what fun I'll have scaring the grandchildren!

I just watched a program, I think on PBS about the wildlife around Chernobyl. When they actually counted, numbers were not anywhere near what would be normal. They also found vast numbers of various mutations. If I recall, larger animals had fewer mutations than did smaller.

Hm. I'll have to re-read the article (I may already have donated that issue to the local library). I would say it was a bit of "there, there" propaganda except that the issue went to press way before Fukushima. They made it clear that the area was still uninhabitable for humans, but I seem to recall being surprised that there was no mention of mutations...just a profusion of seemingly healthy wildlife, including feral dogs.

[PatOrmsby]

This is fantastic information to have. Thank you for sharing it, StoneHarbor! I am living 300 km southwest of Fukushima, so I thought we would be pretty much free from the fallout, but the government has announced that it will begin testing pastures in our prefecture (Shizuoka) for radionuclides. It is nice to know as long as the amount of fallout is not too big, there is much we can do about it. We are farming former rice paddies, basically clay pans with a lot of organic matter on top, so I am hopeful.

My husband has been very discouraged. If they find pastures in our area contaminated, even if they don't ban the sale of vegetables from our area, no one will want to buy them anyway. With this information, we could continue farming for ourselves. We could also try moving further west, but with Fukushima continuing to put out radioactive gases and aerosols, the problem will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, and ultimately, it is a global problem. You are right to be concerned about it, even as far away as you are.

There was quite a push to whitewash Chernobyl, but its effects continue to be felt throughout Europe. (Mike Repacholi who has gone back to industry as a consultant was part of this whitewashing. He is also responsible for the lack of standards to protect the public from the non-thermal effects of non-ionizing EMR, ignoring considerable evidence.) Hunters in Germany are required to have their game tested, and apparently in about 2% of cases, they still find radioactivity exceeding standards for human consumption.

If in a reduced-energy future, nuclear reactors become our final choice for keeping the lights on, we face shut-down by default, and ultimately, it could get pretty ugly. It is nice to know there is some hope for dealing with this. Mini-tomatoes grow absolutely like weeds here, and it would be a cinch to do a fallow field of those (while telling the government you are cultivating it--severe penalties for fallow fields are set to kick in soon).

Regarding iodine, it is mostly a short-term concern, but when it continues to be released in large amounts, it can be a real menace. Its half-life is 8 days, but when there are major releases, it is important to bear in mind that a week later the amount has only been reduced by half (and also diluted to some extent). Until they manage to cover Fukushima it would be good to keep up your iodine levels (being aware that you can overdo this too) from safe sources so as to minimize your thyroid's uptake of any radioactive iodine that wafts by.

[Aaltrude]

Very interesting to hear the perspective of someone living in Japan. Thank you Pat and welcome to Hawkes Health. (HH).

[Stoneharbor]

This is fantastic information to have. Thank you for sharing it, StoneHarbor! I am living 300 km southwest of Fukushima, so I thought we would be pretty much free from the fallout, but the government has announced that it will begin testing pastures in our prefecture (Shizuoka) for radionuclides. It is nice to know as long as the amount of fallout is not too big, there is much we can do about it. We are farming former rice paddies, basically clay pans with a lot of organic matter on top, so I am hopeful....

Here's more hope for you Pat, thanks to some contributions from scintilla1 on Mercola's article today on Iodine-131 contamination in milk.

This article scintilla1 provided is long, and basically says that an organic farmer near Chernobyl had crops that were exceptionally low in radiation after the problem there, and in an interview he thanks his knowledge of amending the soil specifically FOR binding radionuclides, which he had been doing for years, after reading papers describing soil contamination with radium: http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/repr...989_Luebke.pdf

This article is on the general Luebke "Controlled Microbial Composting" system which was apparently responsible for the successful omission of radionuclides in vegetables raised in the presence of the exposure to Chernobyl's emissions:
http://www.ibiblio.org/steved/Luebke...-compost2.html

I found both these articles interesting. Best of health and happy home gardening to all!

[Islander]

Thanks for reminding me of this, Stoneharbor, and for posting the additional information. I have too short a season (and too little garden space) to grow tomatoes specifically to discard; alas, I plan to continue to enjoy my home-grown tomatoes for the month or 6 weeks that they are available (and I have plenty down cellar that were canned in 2009 and 2010). Of course, rather than cremate me as planned, they may have to bury me in a lead-lined coffin.

[Stoneharbor]

I will let your younger friends be the pall-bearers!

Hey, what's a few tomatoes from a short Maine growing season. Eat up. Just don't put the vines in the compost.

[Islander]

Ah. Good advice. Er...what exactly do you suggest I do with them then?