radiocaesium
RAY-dee-oh-SEE-zee-um
Definition
A radioactive isotope of the element cesium, specifically cesium-137, which is a major byproduct of nuclear fission and was a primary environmental contaminant released by the Chernobyl accident.
Etymology
The term is a compound of 'radio-' (from Latin 'radius', meaning ray or radiation) and 'caesium' (from the Latin 'caesius', meaning sky blue, referring to the characteristic blue spectral lines of the element).
In the news
In the article, researchers plotted animal track counts against radiocaesium density in the soil to see if higher radiation levels negatively impacted wildlife populations.
Wolves live at seven times the density inside Chernobyl's exclusion zone as in the uncontaminated nature reserves nearby, and elk, deer and boar are just as common, a winter track census found, because whatever chronic radiation does to wildlife, it is gentle
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com