Extracting Radioactive Salt from Chernobyl Blueberries

In this video we extract radioactive salts containing cesium-137 from blueberries grown near chernobyl.

Cesium - 137 is a radioactive isotope and one of the major components of nuclear fission waste. The various nuclear weapons tests and nuclear reactor accidents has spread detectable amounts all over the world. I obtained some blueberries that originally came from europe and have detectable cesium content. but i wanted to quantify it accurately so to perform the analysis i concentrated the caesium into a few grams of salt by "digesting" the blueberries with sulfuric acid. The acid completely destroys all organic matter and leaves behind the sulfate salts of any remaining inorganic elements including caesium. Using the built-in detection and analysis functions of my radiacode i was able to determine the activity was 150Bq. Since i started with a 60g sample, this meant the bulk activity was 2500Bq/kg. For comparison, the maximum allowed activity for food in most countries is 100Bq/kg, so the blueberries exceeded that by 25 times.

[NurdRage]

Anyone know where i can get any other foods or sources high in caesium-137? I'm trying to acquire more and the guy i got the blueberries from doesn't have anymore.

[kcgunesq]

To avoid anyone thinking otherwise, the "exhaust" from the cooling towers is nothing but water vapor. Unless something goes terribly wrong, no radiation leaves the reactor vessel.

[RyuSujin]

Thought this was a NileRed video at first with a video title like this. Was pleasantly surprised it was you instead :D

[imikla]

Awesome!
This video is fantastic for multiple reasons!
I've wanted a gamma spectrometer for a long time and was looking to build one. Then you did the video: Do your own Gamma Spectroscopy with the RadiaCode 103
That got me excited that I could get a reasonably priced gamma spectrometer with amazing software without building one.
Then this video!!
Another awesome RadiaCode experiment!
On top of that, the set up for digesting the blueberries has helped me with another project I've been working on.
A video two-fer!
I'm already a Patreon Patron, but this deserves a bump!!

[NathanaelNewton]

I've had the radiacode 101 and 102 for several years now, I absolutely love them and take one of them everywhere I go ❤❤

Found a rock a few cm under a walking trail that's 300 uSv/hour 😮

[k.c.sunshine]

Blueberry sulphate! Yummy chemistry.

Great video.

[Domigud]

>Chernobyl
>Nuclear weapons
>Radioactive blueberries
A non-processed banana measures about 18.4Bq. I bet if you repeat this with a banana, you'd get far more activity.

[emulsion_]

The de-yellowing it goes thru after the 55 hours of digestion was so very satisfying.

[AppliedScience]

Great stuff! I'd be interested in the protein analysis -- maybe test dog or cat food to see if their claims are correct.

[cainaMN]

150Bq translates roughly to 50pg of Cs137
You were only 1.5 orders of magnitude off!
Enjoy your 4nCi sample!

[ZoonCrypticon]

Fantastic ! I have never seen a big bowl of berries vanish into thin air ! Especially by utilizing H2SO4.

[NikitkaDreamer]

Got this in my recommended while eating blueberries. I live in 50 miles distance from Chernobyl, btw...

[eldonjanzen]

This is an amazing radioactive analysis! I am an extreme armature chemist and had no interest in radioactive experiments but posting this video you have sparked in me an interest in such investigations. Thank you.

[heisenbergstayouttamyterri]

NurdRage my homie! Always glad to see your vids. Your videos are not only educational but also entertaining! ❤

[llanlydia]

"I'm pretty sure I'm off by several orders of magnitude"

Best quote ever lol

[ae-bdgr]

I've been loving all the recent uploads

[AmPapaBear]

That is not a title i ever expected to see on Youtube, and I'm here for it.

[jerematic]

As a teen i was super obcessed with nuclear chemistry. Seeing the counts from radioactive material released during the Chernobyl incident is amazing.

[twocvbloke]

Here in the UK, Wales and the county of Cumbria had restrictions placed upon their movement of sheep due to the radioactive contamination from Chernobyl, given high ground seemed to attract the most of the fallout, and that's where farmers grazed their sheep, it's only in the past decade that the restrictions have been lifted, but monitoring still goes on, scary how far that dirty cloud travelled...

[ThinkingGameTeam]

i've been watching you for years... you deserve far more subscribers