A citizens group tested soil from three location in Tokyo and Yokohama, and found radioactive strontium, as much as 51 becquerels per kilogram.

The samples were taken at the end of October.  This is not the first time strontium 90 has been found.  At the beginning of October it was confirmed that samples taken on a building’s roof top, in Yokohama, was contaminated with 195 becquerels of strontium 90.

Strontium 90 has a half life of 28.8 years. It can cause bone cancer.

The citizens group believes the strontium 90 came from the disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, which is about 170 miles from Yokohama.  However, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is claiming that it could not have come from Fukushima Daiichi.

The government officials say it would be more likely that strontium 89 would be coming from the failed nuke plant.  This doesn’t make sense, because strontium 89 is used medically, to treat bone cancer, and in rare cases to treat pain.  In my quick research I could not find anything that said strontium 89 is a by product of nuclear reactors.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web site only said that it could be found around nuclear plants.

I can only conclude that the Japanese government officials don’t know what they’re talking about.  When you look up strontium 90 you’ll find that it is specifically a creation of nuclear fission, and found in nuclear fallout, so the citizens group is right!