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B: Fukushima Dai-ichi

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Quantity:

Sacramento California
Test station reports:
Xenon 133
Iodine 131
Iodine 132
Tellurium 132
Cesium 137

       Anaheim Riverside San Francisco Seattle Wash
C 137   0.0017  0.00024 0.0013      0.00045
T 132   0.012 0.0014  0.0075      0.0034
I 132    0.0095  0.0015  0.0066      0.0029
I 131    0.046   0.011   0.068       0.013

Trace amounts noted in:
Hawaii
Colorado:
Grand Junction, Denver, Colorado Springs

Xenon 133
Used as indicators of nuclear explosions
By-product of nuclear weapon testing--test ban treaties
Radioactive decay of iodine, uranium, plutonium
Nobel gas--heavy
Produced by neutron irradiation of fissionable material within nuclear reactors
Relatively high concentrations may be found emanating from nuclear reactors due to the release of fission products from cracked fuel rods or fissioning of uranium in cooling water
Gamma ray emmissions can be used to image heart, lung, and brain function (PET Scan)
Anesthetic--more powerful than nitrous oxide
Will produce lower voice timbre (helium/high)
Strong oxidative properties
Will dissolve in most plastice & rubber
1/2 life medical/5 days Bio 16 million years (?)

Iodine 131
Radioactive isotope of iodine
1/2 life 8 days
Significant contributor to the health effects from 50's bomb testing & Chernobyl
Notable for causing mutation and death in cells which it penetrates
Damage appears years after exposure, long after I-131 has decayed
Absorbed through contaminated food
Treatment saturate thyroid with regular, non-radioactive iodine 127, as iodide
Medical test to determine exposure - radioassay of the thyroid available through most major medical centers
Iodized table salt (needs to be iodized) important means of acquiring essential non-radioactive iodine to maintain health
Salt intake caution

Iodine 132
A beta and gamma emmitting radioisotope of iodine with a physical 1/2 life of 3 hours
Usually obtained from a tellurium 132 radionuclide generator

Cesium 137
Radioactive isotope of cesium which is formed as a fission product by nuclear fission
1/2 life 30 years
Decays by beta emmissions
C 137 is the principal source of radiation in the Zone of Alienation around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Water soluble after entering the body
C 137 gets distributed through the body higher in muscle tissue, lower in bone
Single dose can be lethal in 3 weeks.
Can be treated with the chemical "Prussian Blue" binds to and expells from body
(Wikipedia)

Tellurium 132
Decay process:
Tin>Antimony>Tellurium 132>Iodine132>Xenon132
(Berkley Nuclear)
Presence of T132 indicates a significant release of fission products from fuel rods, and therefore we know this is from one of the three operating reactors that were shut down at the earthquake as opposed to spent fuel pools that were shut down greater than 100 days ago.