(8th of October 2012 update)
Enlarge the map Environnement Corée du Sud [1]
After the nuclear disaster of Fukushima, ACRO has extended its Citizen Watch of Radioactivity in the Environment to Japan.
We also received samples from South Korea.
AUGUST 2011 :
• Samples [2] collected in eastern South Korea
DECEMBER 2011
• Wallpaper sample [3] from South Korea
AUGUST 2012 :
• Infant milk [4] from South Korea
See data below
SOUTH KOREA ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES : ACRO’s RESULTS
[5]
WALLPAPER SAMPLE FROM SOUTH KOREA : ACRO’s RESULTS
Download [6] the analysis report
[7]
Comments:
ACRO analysed wallpaper from Korea at the request of the NGO “Save Child Korea”.
This paper is highly contaminated by natural radioactive elements that have been concentrated.
It is:
– uranium 238 that decays into a chain of other radioactive elements. For each of them, the concentration is of the order of 1,000 Bq/kg;
– uranium 235, present in lower quantity, as in nature. Even if the decay products were not identified, they should also be present in the paper;
– thorium 232 that decays into a chain of other radioactive elements. For each of them, the concentration is of the order of 8,000 Bq/kg;
ACRO also checked various part of the wallpaper to see if a given pigment could explain such a level of radioactivity. It appears that the contamination is quite uniform.
Such levels of radioactivity are anomalously high. They are higher than the exemption levels fixed by the Euratom 96/29 directive. If the concentration of thorium 232 is larger than 1,000 Bq/kg, the product should be considered as a radioactive matter. The threshold is the same for the uranium 238.
In Europe, the production of such a product should be considered as a nuclear activity that requires authorizations and strict rules for the workers and the waste.
The French law forbids the introduction of radioelements into goods expected if it is authorized after justification. The use of this wallpaper leads to an irradiation of the inhabitants that is small but continuous and not justified.
As a consequence this wallpaper should be withdrawn from the market and considered as a radioactive waste.
This wallpaper was made by Daedong Wallpaper ( http://www.ddwp.co.kr/ [8] ) that bankrupted in July 2011. The factory is located in Gimhae and is very probably also contaminated. It is call
[9]ed “Spring Vivid”.
In its patent [10], the company pretends: “Disclosed is functional wallpaper comprising tourmaline and elvan powders so as to emit anions and far infrared rays. The functional wallpaper comprises a base layer, a layer formed of a foamed polyvinyl chloride resin comprising tourmaline and elvan powder, and a print layer, when viewed from the bottom surface adhered to a wall surface. The functional wallpaper emits a great amount of anions and far infrared rays, and thus refreshes indoor environments and provides excellent effects favorable to the human body.”
INFANT MILK FROM SOUTH KOREA : ACRO’s RESULTS
[11]
Donate for ACRO or Japan:
Ancien lien [12]