... 30 year half life for the cesium - sucks for the fishermen there. I'd bet you after the Ban is lifted on fishing Japan is going to have very healthy numbers of fish.
I hope none of that radiation shows up here!
The scary thing is that they can't get the flow of radioactive waste water stopped. This could go on for a very long time before you even start thinking about the half life of the stuff. I had people out from Japan this week and they said it is much worse than their government is saying. Hard to think that just more accident like that in southern Japan and that country would be practically inhabitable.
The cesium might last 30 years, but the fish which contain it wont. That stuff will rapidly get diluted into the environment as the fish die.
No, but it will remain in the food chain even if the fish die. They will be eaten predators and pass on the contamination. Then when they die they'll be eaten by sharks, bottom fish, crabs, seals etc. Then when these animals die they will be consumed again and round and round we go. It's a serious situation.