radiocesium

[rey-dee-oh-see-zee-uhm]

noun

Chemistry.

1. cesium 137.

Word History and Origins

Origin of radiocesium¹

First recorded in 1950–55; radio- + cesium

Example Sentences

So Kaste and his colleagues—including one of his undergrads—collected 122 samples of locally produced, raw honey from across the eastern United States and tested them for radiocesium.

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In both data sets, the researchers found that radiocesium levels had declined sharply since the 1960s—a similar trend that likely occurred in honey.

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The bombs ejected radiocesium—a radioactive form of the element cesium—into the upper atmosphere, and winds dispersed it around the world before it fell out of the skies in microscopic particles.

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Radiocesium is soluble in water, and plants can mistake it for potassium, a vital nutrient that shares similar chemical properties.

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To see whether plants continue to take up this nuclear contaminant, James Kaste, a geologist at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, gave his undergraduate students an assignment: Bring back local foods from their spring break destinations to test for radiocesium.

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