For the first time, the Fukushima fingerprint isotope, cesium-134 (¹³⁴Cs; half-life ~ 2 years), has been detected at an extremely low level in a Canadian salmon by the InFORM project. The single sockeye salmon that tested positive was sampled from Osoyoos Lake in the summer of 2015, according to scientists from the Radiation Protection Bureau at Health Canada, in cooperation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and local First Nations.  The sample was one of a few (8 out of 156 total) individual fish that had trace levels of the longer lived  cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) (30 yr half-life) that we reported on last winter. To determine if this trace ¹³⁷Cs was from Fukushima or remnant from atmospheric weapons testing, InFORM reexamined these individual fish samples to see if extremely low levels of ¹³⁴Cs may be present. The results of this extended analysis show that trace (0.07 Bq kg^-1) levels of ¹³⁴Cs were detected in one sample from Okanagan/Columbia River population. No ¹³⁴Cs was detectable in the other samples. The observed levels remain well below the action level (1000 Bq kg^-1) set by Health Canada guidelines.  Continue reading Pushing the Limit: Fukushima Fingerprint Isotope Found in Salmon from 2015 →