Surfer's beach sand radiation is also not from Fukushima

Princeton Harbor and Surfer's Beach
Red dot, radioactive hot spot from Japan? Fortunately no.

Half Moon Bay Review/Mark Noack, 1/16/14.  "Radioactive sands known for 50 years, experts reiterate beaches remain safe."

Catch myself a waive,
Fear? Today its sharks

"Government and independent experts last week gave a new round of reassurance that higher-than-normal radiation levels along the Surfer’s Beach were not from the Fukushima Daiichi reactors in Japan and nothing to be concerned about. In fact, the relatively high level of radioactivity has likely been around Half Moon Bay and other spots on the California coast for a long time.

Thomas Ward, a nuclear consultant with the U.S. Department of Energy, believes Surfer’s Beach is what is known as a “black sand” beach, a sandy spot that accumulates rare earth metals and other heavy elements. Last week, independent analysts confirmed that the main source for the heightened radiation at Surfer’s Beach was naturally occurring thorium and not cesium-137 released when the Fukushima plant melted down in 2011. Ward indicated that shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“This beach has been known for the last 40 to 50 years to contain these radioactive sands,” he said. “It’s not considered a radiation hazard, so long as you’re not eating it, and you’re not living on it, 24/7.”  Read article.

Note surfer picture from New Nooz, graphic map from Ocean Surfing.

Posted by Kathy Meeh