by Mary Bowerman and Tracy Loew
USA Today
Published 9 Dec 2016
For the first time, seaborne radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster has been detected on the West Coast of the United States.
The levels are very low and shouldn’t harm people eating fish from the West Coast or swimming in the ocean, according to Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Continue reading Should we be worried about Fukushima radiation?
Results from the shellfish meat and first 20 salmon samples collected in 2016 reveal an absence of Fukushima radiation. Shellfish from four species were collected from many of British Columbia’s major shellfish aquaculture regions from Prince Rupert to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. These results are from just the meat of the shellfish and additional analysis of the crushed shell is currently ongoing. The four types of molluscs (Pacific Scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis), Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas), Northern Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis and a hybrid with M. galloprovincalis), and Manila Clam (Venerupis philippinarum)) were chosen for analysis because previous work in other tropical species has shown that bivalves bioaccumulate cesium at rates faster than many other organisms. This work on tropical species did find that much of the cesium contamination was located in the shell so we await the results of the ongoing shell analyses. The absence of contamination in the edible meat from any of the species is reassurance to the $25 million aquaculture industry of BC that their product is safe to send to market and safe for human consumption. Continue reading Results from 2016 InFORM Biotic Monitoring – Shellfish and Vancouver Island Salmon
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
Oceanic Monitoring:
The suite of summer 2015 oceanic data are now ready and they show quite a change from 2014. Comparing these data side by side, it is plain to see that the concentrations of 137Cs have increased considerably in the central NE Pacific. It appears that the plume has spread throughout this vast area from Alaska to California. While natural processes of radioactive decay are slowly decreasing concentrations of 134Cs (with a 2 year half-life roughly 25% of the original concentration was present in April 2015), the signal for 137Cs is getting smeared by the currents of the NE Pacific and as they paint the path of the highest flows. For the sampling details and to see the values for 134Cs, see the interactive map. Continue reading September 2016 InFORMal Update
by Sara Zeidan
After two weeks straight of living on a boat I have finally touched solid ground! I could not help but naturally sway from side to side as I walked along the port of the Institute of Ocean Sciences, seems I am more prone to land sickness than sea sickness. Continue reading PHOTOS: Walk the Line, P: Inspiration
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