Honey produced in the United States contains traces of radiation, which scientists came to this conclusion after conducting a study. Experts say this is a relic of the Cold War.
According to Nature Communications, half of the honey samples that scientists collected in the east of the country contained varying amounts of the isotope cesium-137.
Scientists think plants can confuse cesium with potassium. The truth is that these two chemical elements have many atomic similarities. When plants in low-potassium soils cannot get adequate levels of the nutrients, they begin to absorb cesium. As a result, the isotope gets into the plant nectar. After pollination, cesium is transferred to the bees, and then honey enters.
However, as the researchers note, no radiation levels dangerous to humans have been found in honey.
One researcher observed, “What we see today is a small fraction of the radiation that was present in the 1960s and 1970s.”
However, cesium adversely affects bees. He dies from it.