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
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster On 13 February 2014, TEPCO reported 37 kBq (1.0 microcurie) of caesium-134 and 93 kBq (2.5 microcuries) of caesium-137 were detected per liter of groundwater sampled from a monitoring well. Dust particles gathered 4 km from the reactors in 2017 included microscopic nodules of melted core samples encased in caesium. After decades of exponential decline in ocean caesium from weapons testing fallout, radioactive isotopes of caesium in the Sea of Japan increased after Fukushima from 1.5 mBq/L to about 2.5 mBq/L and are still rising as of 2018, while those just off the western coast of Japan have declined. According