Alkali metal from the Chernobyl accident. Caesium-137 undergoes high-energy beta decay and eventually becomes stable barium-137. It is a strong emitter of gamma radiation. Caesium-137 has a very low rate of neutron capture and cannot be feasibly disposed of in this way, but must be allowed to decay. Caesium-137 has been used as a tracer in hydrologic studies, analogous to the use of tritium. Small amounts of caesium-134 and caesium-137 were released into the environment during nearly all nuclear weapon tests and some nuclear accidents, most notably the Goiânia accident and the Chernobyl disaster. As of 2005, caesium-137 is the principal source
Caesium-137 forest site 50 km from the stricken plant, Cs-137 concentrations were high in leaf litter, fungi and detritivores, but low in herbivores. By the end of 2014, "Fukushima-derived radiocesium had spread into the whole western North Pacific Ocean", transported by the North Pacific current from Japan to the Gulf of Alaska. It has been measured in the surface layer down to 200 meters and south of the current area down to 400 meters. Caesium-137 is reported to be the major health concern in Fukushima. The government is under pressure to clean up radioactivity from Fukushima from as much land as