Fukushima fisheries: virtual field trip

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Al Bergstein
Soma Fukushima harbor

This is a virtual field trip I’ve pulled together for the Marine Pollution class at SAMS to understand the effects of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami …

Fukushima fisheries: virtual field trip

After the 2011 Fukushima earthquake there was much made of the possible “permanent” nuclear pollution to the oceans around it, and further afield. Many of the readers of the Olympic Peninsula Environmental News had concerns about what happened after the earthquake and the affects of nuclear radiation on fish in the area. Here’s an update I found recently. Worth a look regardless of whether it changes your point of view on the disaster. I offer it only as a data point among many. First hand from the field by a noted scientist, Dr. Leslie Mabon.

Another big challenge for consumers and fisheries post-disaster has been trust. Who can one trust for reliable information on the safety of Fukushima fish? To assess the safety of fish caught in Fukushima waters – but primarily to promote cooking and eating Fukushima produce – the local NGO Umi Labo (meaning: Sea Lab) regularly catches fish from the sea off the coast of the Fukushima Dai’ichi nuclear power plant. With support from the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium, they then independently check the content of the fish they catch. Anyone can join their cruises, which use the Cho-Ei Maru vessel (see Destination 7 above), and their monitoring data goes online for verification:

Dr. Leslie Mabon

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No adverse effects from 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster on B.C. coast: SFU researchers – Canadian Press

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Al Bergstein

I know this has been a concern to some of you here on the Peninsula. There also has been a huge amount of fake news on social media about this. Here’s the latest research.

Seven years after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan released radioactive elements into the environment, researchers say those elements pose minimal risk to human or salmon health along British Columbia’s coast. A team of researchers at Simon Fraser University’s nuclear science lab collected soil and salmon samples from the Quesnel and Harrison rivers and used a high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy to search for signs of radioactive isotopes. The isotopes — Cesium 134 and 137 — are fission fragments that do not exist in nature and, therefore, can be directly attributed to nuclear reactions. Amy Smart reports. (Canadian Press)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/no-adverse-effects-from-2011-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-on-b-c-coast-sfu-researchers-1.4571870

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After the Tsunami, Japan’s Sea Creatures Crossed an Ocean – NY Times

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Al Bergstein

The untold story  from Fukushima. While I’ve been asked by people about the issue of radiation from Fukushima getting into our food chain, there is a much bigger issue we are facing. It’s this one.

TOKYO — The towering tsunami that devastated Japan six years ago also unleashed a very different sort of threat onto the distant coastline of North America: a massive invasion of marine life from across the Pacific Ocean.

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Japan’s nuclear disaster didn’t affect fish or human health on West Coast: B.C. scientist – Globe and Mail

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Al Bergstein

The science, to date, does not show that there is a reason for concern over the releases in Fukushima. That’s good news but we need to keep up the monitoring. The plant is not safe yet and from what I’ve read, is still leaking highly radioactive water directly into the ocean. There are a lot of fake news sites out there with bogus information on Fukushima. I’ve been tracking the scientists who have been monitoring this issue since it happened, and feel confident that we have not yet encountered issues that would cause me to not eat fish or other ocean products from Alaska or the West Coast. I do not eat products from Japan anymore, because the deception being foisted on the fishermen by the government is quite bad. Read the Newsweek story linked below for more on that.

Radioactive contamination following a nuclear power-plant disaster in Japan never reached unsafe levels in the north Pacific Ocean for either marine life or human health, says a British Columbia scientist. Chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen of the University of Victoria has monitored levels of contamination from radioactive isotopes, used in cancer therapies and medical imaging, since the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011 following a tsunami triggered by an earthquake. Camille Bains reports. (Canadian Press)

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/japans-nuclear-disaster-didnt-affect-fish-or-human-health-bc-scientist/article36257317/

and a further follow up worth reading here.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/10/us-watches-as-fukushima-continues-to-leak-radiation.html

and Newsweek seems to have the most current problems at the plant.

http://www.newsweek.com/fukushima-has-been-leaking-radioactive-water-may-tepco-didnt-tell-anyone-309442

 

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New study finds no Fukushima radiation in shellfish samples in B.C.

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Al Bergstein

News from Canada on the latest round of testing for Fukushima radiation. For those wanting a deeper dive on the methodology, try the link in the story below.

Thought I would let you know of some good news in case you have been asked about this or have concerns yourself. The Fukushima incident in 2011 led to some concerns over the safety of waters and seafood products in BC, and the implied impacts for humans. A group of scientists were formed to look into this https://fukushimainform.ca/about/to assess what the risks were and to disseminate the information to the public.

Last year the group tested radiation levels in salmon and found nothing of concern. This year they also did salmon sampling, but also included shellfish which is where I was involved. I approached growers around BC, from Prince Rupert to Baynes Sound, to Sunshine Coast and west coast of Vancouver Island, using a variety of shellfish (oysters, scallops, mussels and mussel hybrids) and targeting the tissues that would be eaten by humans (in general whole body but in case of the scallops only the adductor muscle). The analysis of both the tissue and the shell is completed and great news, they found no detectable levels of radiation. You can find more about it here:

https://fukushimainform.ca/2016/11/24/results-from-2016-inform-biotic-monitoring-shellfish-and-vancouver-island-salmon/#more-2489

So far the webpage shows the information from the tissues only, but the shells also did not contain any radiation either and that will be posted shortly. So I thought it would be useful to pass it along to you as producers, but also so you can pass along to any consumers who may have expressed caution. You can now direct them to the study!fukushimainform

I also thought I would share it with you as although none of your animals were tested, it shows species information for producers in the same local area – e.g. Steve and David, you’ll see that Quadra is clean for many species. Darlene – I thought you might like to tell members or to link to it on the BCSGA webpage.

Please let me know if you have any questions and please feel free to direct anyone to the website.

Dr. Helen Gurney-Smith

Biological Effects, Ecosytems and Oceans Science
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
St. Andrews Biological Station
531 Brandy Cove Road

St. Andrews, New Brunswick, E5B 2L9 Canada

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No radiation found in B.C. fish after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster – Vancouver Sun

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Al Bergstein

So far, so good. The raw data from the scientists is in.

From http://fukushimainform.ca.

Coastal monitoring: Results from 26 samples, mostly collected in September and October, did not find any of the Fukushima fingerprint isotope, 134Cs (2 year half-life), in the coastal waters. Low levels of 137Cs (~30 year half-life) were present in all of the samples. Also, some of the new results were from June-August, filling in some gaps that are related to calibration of the new spectrometer. No 134Cs was detected in samples returned for that interval.

The maximum allowable concentration of radiocesium in Canadian drinking water is 10,000 Bq m-3. The levels being detected in our citizen science samples are thousands of times lower and are not a risk to the health of the marine ecosystem or the public.

From the Vancouver Sun story:
Nearly five years after a massive earthquake resulted in the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, researchers in B.C. have found no detectable levels of contamination in fish along the West Coast. Contamination in fish had been expected to increase, as levels for radioisotopes cesium-134 and 137 are getting higher in offshore sea water, according to Jay Cullen, a chemical oceanographer at the University of Victoria. But models showing how ocean circulation will carry that contamination suggest there is little reason for concern in B.C. “While we expect the contamination in fish to increase … we don’t expect those levels to approach levels that will be a danger to human health,” Cullen said. Those projected contamination levels won’t be harmful to the fish, either, he added. Bethany Lindsay reports. (Vancouver Sun)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/radiation+found+local+fish+after+japan+fukushima+nuclear/11737813/story.html

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Video: Update on Fukushima radiation

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Dr. Ken Buessler, is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, running the new Center for Marine and Environmental Radiation. He has been a leading voice in getting what scientific data there is on the radiation released (and still being released) from the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns. He was instrumental in forming what little  citizen science based monitoring exists, since the Republican controlled Congress will not fund monitoring, apparently.

This talk, from last month, is an up to date assessment of the situation. We still can be grateful that we have not seen meaningful levels of cesium yet on the west coast. But we cannot be complacent, as the build up of this deadly radioactive isotope is growing, albeit slowly, and could be showing up in seafood captured far off shore. Tuna is one of the most likely fish to have measurable amounts from Fukushima, but still are at levels far below what any scientist feels is of concern. More monitoring is needed, and you can help. See www.ourradioactiveocean.org for funding opportunities for measurements to be gathered from Sequim Bay and other local sites.

Dr. Buessler has recently  helped launch the  Radband, a means of measuring cesium with a sensor built into something small enough to wear on your ankle when you enter the ocean. He also was responsible for the

His web site is http://www.ourradioactiveocean.org

You can also look at http://www.biol.sc.edu/faculty/mosseau

Fukushima from two sides of the Pacific.

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Fukushima radiation measured on B.C. shore for 1st time – CBC

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Al Bergstein

We knew this day would come. Levels are still so low as to not be an immediate concern, but this does raise concerns that it will end up building up on the shores. This stuff does not ‘go away’.

Trace amounts of radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan have been detected on North American shores for the first time, but researchers say the amount of radiation is not a concern.  Radioactive forms of the element cesium that could only have come from Fukushima were detected in samples collected on Feb. 19 in Ucluelet, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, with the help of the Ucluelet Aquarium, scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported today. (CBC)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fukushima-radiation-measured-on-b-c-shore-for-1st-time-1.3022565

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Photos: Japanese tsunami debris still washing up on B.C. shores – Vancouver Sun

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Al Bergstein

And on this fourth anniversary of the Fukushima Earthquake, the debris keeps coming. It’s hard to believe it was four years ago.  And the radioactive waste is apparently still spilling into the sea.

March 11, 2015 is the fourth anniversary of the devastating tidal waves that hit Japan after a magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest island. Debris from Japan has been washing up on North American shores since 2012. (Vancouver Sun)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Photos+Japanese+tsunami+debris+still+washing+shores/10877860/story.html

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Sockeye, inshore waters test Fukushima-free – Coast Reporter

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Good news so far, in that an independent group of citizen scientists and researchers have not been able to find any trace of Fukushima radiation in seawater at the coast of B.C. We hope this testing continues into next year.

As the first batches of seawater samples collected by citizen scientists along the B.C. coast are being analyzed in Victoria, the results of radiation testing on 19 sockeye salmon and steelhead samples have come back negative for Fukushima-related contamination. And tests conducted so far this year on water samples from Prince Rupert to Victoria have also found B.C.’s inshore waters to be Fukushima-free. John Gleeson reports. (Coast Reporter)

Read the whole story at the Coast Reporter site.

http://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/sockeye-inshore-waters-test-fukushima-free-1.1688375

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Traces Of Fukushima Radioactivity Detected In West Coast Waters – KPLU

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Al Bergstein

We’ve known it was coming for some time, and now it’s been confirmed. The first edges of the plume of radioactivity distinctly known to come from Fukushima is being seen, albeit at extremely low levels. There is no reason not to consume fish from the Pacific at this point, as the levels are so small that you likely are eating radioactivity from other background sources already at these levels. The real concern is if these levels start increasing. The other concern is, “what is being done to stop the radioactive water leaking into the Pacific?” As I understand, it still is at significant levels. The press has just stopped reporting it.

An oceanography institute announced Monday that trace amounts of radioactivity from Japan have been detected off the West Coast. Radiation experts say the low levels of radioactivity measured do not pose a health threat here…. A recent research cruise from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to Eureka, California detected the front edge of the plume multiple times between 100 and 1,000 miles offshore. Tom Banse reports. (KPLU)

http://kplu.org/post/traces-fukushima-radioactivity-detected-west-coast-waters

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Group: No Fukushima radiation at Oregon Coast – AP via King 5 News

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Ok, let’s all take a deep breath. There appears to be no radiation from Fukushima here, according to the person that is the most respected researcher in North America. Let’s hope he continues to find none.

A group testing West Coast waters for radiation from a damaged Japanese nuclear power plant says no evidence of contamination has been found in Oregon…. Using crowd-sourced money and volunteers, Ken Buesseler has been testing samples from the Bering Strait to San Diego. So far none of the samples sent in have traces of radiation from Japan. (Associated Press)

http://www.king5.com/news/environment/no-fukushima-radiation-oregon-coast-269228791.html

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Fukushima Crisis – Georgia Strait Alliance

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Looking for a ton of scientific information on the Fukushima Crisis and it’s affects on us? The good folks at the Georgia Strait Alliance in Canada have put this web site up. A web site of web sites. Likely I’ll refer to some of this on the left side of this blog someday as well.

Georgia Strait Alliance has put up a web page to update the crisis: “The devastating explosions in 2011 at the Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan released huge quantities of radioactive isotopes into the ocean and our atmosphere….”

Fukushima Crisis

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Is Fukushima Radiation Causing Pacific Starfish Die-offs?- Earthfix

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Good info on a question that has been raised a lot lately.

The short answer is almost definitely no. Scientists do not see a connection between the massive die-offs of starfish along the Pacific shores of North America and Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.earthfix.info/flora-and-fauna/article/is-fukushima-radiation-causing-of-pacific-starfish/?utm_source=EarthFix+Weekly&utm_campaign=aa77699d69-EarthFix_Weekly_Feb_19_2014002_19_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_693d42e2f5-aa77699d69-46872029

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Cash wanted to help monitor Fukushima ocean radioactivity – Nature

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Al Bergstein

More information to counter the wild assertions being made on the Internet over the Fukushima radiation threat.

Ken Buesseler was one of the first scientists to analyse the sea water off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, after the nuclear meltdowns that followed a devastating tsunami there in March 2011.

This week, the marine chemist, based at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, launched How Radioactive Is Our Ocean?, a crowd-funding website that urges people to support the collection and analysis of seawater samples along the west coast of the United States.

It’s well worth reading the whole article if you have any concerns over Fukushima radiation.

http://www.nature.com/news/cash-wanted-to-help-monitor-fukushima-ocean-radioactivity-1.14552

“How Radioactive Is Our Oceans?”

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=83397&tid=3622&cid=184949&c=2

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Scientists Say Stop Worrying About Fukushima Radioactivity In Fish – Earthfix

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Al Bergstein

A follow up to yesterdays’ story. With more to come. While some say to show the data, the data that has been collected is vastly lower than even close to health standards concern. The fact is that there are a lot of people looking and not finding anything of concern. That’s good news!

Hundreds of millions of gallons of radioactive water were released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 hit Japan. That’s made many people nervous about eating fish caught on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Ashley Ahearn reports.

http://earthfix.kcts9.org/water/article/scientists-say-stop-worrying-about-fukushima-radio/

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Media get first tour of fish radiation check process – Japan Times News

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Of great concern to many of my readers is the  possible contamination of fish from the nuclear power plant leaking in Japan. There have been many wild speculative stories, some obviously made up for PR purposes on the web, especially showing up on Facebook. We are trying to keep a close eye on the real science being done around this issue. So far, I have not seen anything coming out that is “of concern” to us along our coast. Can that change? You bet. But for now, I have no problem buying and eating seafood caught of the Washington and Alaskan shores.

Here’s the latest from Japan

With the continued flow of radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant, consumers at home and abroad are concerned about the safety of seafood around Japan.

To ease such concerns and demonstrate how fisheries products are being monitored, the Fisheries Agency held a media tour last week to a research facility in Onjuku, Chiba Prefecture, that attracted 36 participants, most of them foreign journalists and embassy officials.

You will want to read the rest of this story:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/12/17/national/media-get-first-tour-of-fish-radiation-check-process/#.UrHaI2RDvw6

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ScienceDaily report on Fukushima plume.

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Al Bergstein

The real story, not the fake ones circulating with NOAA tsunamai maps mislabeled as this one.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130828092312.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+(ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News)

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Radioactive Tuna Migrated Into Californian Waters From Japan – Medical News Today

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Al Bergstein

The good news here is that the levels are lower than that which is deemed hazardous, the bad news is that it wasn’t detected by people being paid to monitor such things, but by some researchers looking at migratory issues.

It is critical that the government get their monitoring in place and in front of these kinds of issues, before the public panics and destroys the fishing industry , which is likely to happen from this anyway. Many people do not trust government monitoring to be accurate and timely.

Pacific bluefin tuna which have migrated from Japan to California have been found to be contaminated with radioactive cesium from the Fukushima nuclear accident, researchers from Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific have reported in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). Despite radiation contamination, levels so far detected are well below those considered hazardous for human health, the authors emphasized.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245939.php

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