Midwest Chick's Place

(A.K.A. Non-Original Rants)

–Co-opting good stuff from all over the ‘Net and maybe some original thoughts—ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

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Cesium Shrimp–a theory

Aaron has an article up about the CS-137 contaminated shrimp that made it past customs and into WalMarts in 13 different states. NFO has one as well.

CS-137 is mainly a beta emitter with some gamma, which is what makes it so nasty–it has a half life of over 30 years also so it hangs on long-term.

My theory about how the shrimp got contaminated is this: someone dumped a bunch of CS-137 sources (they are used in medical research and gauges) near where the shrimp feed and one or more of the containers cracked open.

I don’t think the source was from a reactor because no other isotopes were noted and there would have been other isotopes or daughters in the shrimp as well–this seems to be single-source.

There’s stories about sources being thrown out (usually in underdeveloped countries) and ending up in landfills where they cracked open and where people were injured (big radiation burns) because they carried the pretty glowy stuff in their pockets.

I’m guessing this was much the same except they used an ocean dump and it ended up in the food chain.

ht: B

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Midwest Chick

12 responses to “Cesium Shrimp–a theory”

  1. boneman1959 Avatar
    boneman1959

    Boy howdy…. Remember Artie Johnson? Sadly, I can’t post the image… but he was on Laugh-In back in the day and yes I’m fossilizing as I type this….

    He would be in a German Army helmet vintage WWII with big round glasses… Somewhat hiding behind some foliage, he would part the leaves and in a thick teutonic accent would begin the little schtick by saying:

    “Very Innnnnnterestingk!”

    Thanks for the update.

    And it is… quite interesting. It will be fun to see if they find out the actual source once all the finger-pointing is done.

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  2. WDS Avatar
    WDS

    I’m glad the issue wasn’t also at Sam’s.
    (I have a couple bags in the freezer)

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  3. T Town Avatar
    T Town

    While I admit your theory is the most likely explanation, you can’t overlook the source of the contaminated shrimp. It could also be possible that, for whatever reason, the CS-137 was present in the processing plant. Or, the contamination could even possibly have been introduced in the production of the packaging material. This is yet another fine example of the need to stop importing food and drugs that can be produced in this country.

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  4. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    I never eat shrimp unless I catch them. Most foreign shrimp is treated with sodium bisulfite and sodium tripolyphosphate to keep them from getting mushy & discolored. Makes the meat rubbery & the shell stronger. Nasty stuff. They make good bait to catch something to eat.

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  5. Wandering Neurons Avatar
    Wandering Neurons

    Cesium-137 is used to sterilize foodstuffs including crustaceans as part of food processing. My first guess would be that the Cesium container was cracked in the production and packing area. Info from FDA
    https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-irradiation-what-you-need-know

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  6. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    I have a love affair with seafood. All my immediate family have been spearfishing and rod fishing for all our lives. I spent six years as a commercial fisherman. For a couple of years after that I was a route driver for a friend’s business as a seafood wholesaler and retailer.

    I know seafood. There are some sources of seafood I will never touch. Any from SEA or any farmed fish (Norway is big in that, but Australia is big on that too). I tell everyone I meet and now I’m telling you; avoid (like the plague) the aforementioned.

    The idea as mentioned by MWC is eminently plausible.

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  7. Midwest Chick Avatar
    Midwest Chick

    boneman–It will definitely be interesting.

    WDS–I’d double check. Sam’s and WalMart are connected.

    T Town and Wandering–I think maybe detectors would have gone off at the processing plant if there had been a release of the cesium from the irradiation system.

    Bob–Sometimes not even good bait…

    Rick–Good to know about the sources. I will definitely keep that in mind!

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  8. T Town Avatar
    T Town

    Midwest Chick, are you not aware of where the shrimp came from? I would be surprised if they had any detectors in the plant in Indonesia, which is why I mentioned it as a possibility.

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  9. bkhuna Avatar
    bkhuna

    I grew up across the intracoastal from Port Canaveral, FL. I will not eat seafood if I can’t see the boat it came from.

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  10. Nemo Avatar
    Nemo

    I’m actually surprised that something similar hasn’t turned up before this in any fish or shellfish sourced in the Pacific. Japan has been dumping radioactive water into the Pacific since shortly after the nuke meltdown in 2011.

    I used to eat a nice hunk of grilled Pacific salmon weekly until that happened.

    I tried the farm raised from Norway until I read several articles about what they feed them. They are what they eat.

    Things are getting pretty bad in the food chain when you have to take a Geiger counter to the grocery store.

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  11. TRoy Avatar
    TRoy

    I would have to think that ingestion of radioactive material would shorten one’s life expectancy dramatically. This event, with or without being intentional, seems to be an insidious nuclear/ biological weapon deployment. It could be an ignorant mistake that caused this , or , it could be malicious.

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  12. Midwest Chick Avatar
    Midwest Chick

    T Town–Uh, yeah. I’m aware. But if the cesium was leaking at the irradiation facility, then the contamination would have been more widespread.

    bkhuna–I get it!

    Nemo–In a lot of cases, dilution is the solution to pollution. That’s why I’m thinking the dump site had to be real close to the shrimp feeding grounds. You mean you don’t take your Geiger Counter to the grocery store?? 😉

    TRoy–It depends on the isotope, the type of radiation it emits, and the quantity. It’s not automatically bad. In this case, I think it was an accident.

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