A deep dive into the reality of radioactive water

Japan is set to release 1.3 million tonnes of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear reactor into the ocean. — Flickr

WHEN people go for a swim in an ocean they are literally bathing in a sea of natural radiation.

The predominant component of the radiation comes from potassium-40 which is a natural part of the earth’s environment. Tritium, a heavy cousin of hydrogen, and carbon-14 are also sources produced when high-energy protons from space smash into oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the air.