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<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0https:\/\/fukushimainform.ca<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMonitoring network detects minute trace of Fukushima radiation<\/h2>\n
February 2, 2017<\/p>\n
For the first time, seaborne radiation from Japan\u2019s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has been\u00a0detected in a Canadian salmon<\/strong>, says UVic chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen, who leads the InFORM coastal network that monitors marine radioactivity off BC.<\/p>\nThe single sockeye salmon contained a miniscule amount of cesium-134, the \u201cfingerprint\u201d isotope from Fukushima. The salmon was collected in Okanagan Lake in summer 2015 and was one of eight fish out of a total of 156 that tested positive for trace levels of cesium-137, also a manmade isotope, but not necessarily from Fukushima.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith its roughly 30-year half-life, cesium-137 is still present in the environment from 20th-century nuclear weapons testing and Chernobyl, in addition to Fukushima,\u201d says Cullen. The team did more intense analysis to determine if the telltale cesium-134 was also present.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took these same eight fish and measured them for 60 times as long as we normally do to look for the Fukushima fingerprint,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is analogous to cupping your hand behind your ear to pick up a whisper from across the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
The level of cesium-134 in the one salmon was 10,000 times lower than Health Canada safety guidelines, which is nowhere near a significant risk to consumers, says Cullen.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor perspective, you would need to eat 1,000 to 1,500 kg of salmon with this level of contamination in a short period of time to increase your radiation dose by the same amount as a single five-hour cross-country airplane flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Testing in 2016 discovered one sockeye salmon from Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island with a \u201cminimum detectable concentration\u201d of cesium-137. Further testing is being done to determine whether it\u2019s traceable to Fukushima.<\/p>\n
The radiation plume from Fukushima has spread throughout the northeast Pacific from Alaska to California with maximum levels of contamination expected nearshore this year and next.<\/p>\n
The InFORM network involves scientists in Canada and the US, health experts, non-governmental organizations\u2014and citizen scientists along the BC coast who assist with the monthly collection of water, and annual collection of fish and shellfish samples for analysis.<\/p>\n
The samples supplement measurements taken offshore by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and a citizen scientist network coordinated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that extends from the Bering Strait to San Diego.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the highest concentrations from this plume arrive in the next few years, we\u2019ll continue to monitor radioisotope levels and what kind of risks they pose,\u201d says Cullen. \u201cLevels measured now and predicted at their peak are unlikely to represent a significant health risk to the marine ecosystem or public health in BC.\u201d<\/p>\n
InFORM is funded by the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network. For more information, visit\u00a0fukushimainform.ca<\/a><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.uvic.ca\/home\/about\/campus-news\/2017+a-minute-trace-of-fukushima-radiation-detected+ring<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Fukushima radiation is reaching North America, but the water is still safe<\/h2>\nBy\u00a0Nicole Mortillaro<\/a>\u00a0– Global News \u00a0Dec 9, 2015<\/div>\nNew research has found that radiation from the\u00a02011 Fukushima nuclear accident<\/a>\u00a0in Japan has reached more sites in the waters off the coast of North America.<\/p>\nThe Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has found\u00a0the highest level of contamination at a monitoring site about 1,600 miles west of San Francisco, with the sample returned as being 50 per cent higher than other samples.<\/p>\n
However the level of radiation is\u00a0still 500 times lower than the U.S. government safety limit for drinking water. There is also no concern for boating or swimming within the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami, killing more than 10,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.<\/p>\n
The massive earthquake also damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, causing three cooling systems to fail which resulted in partial meltdowns of some fuel rods. Contamination leaked out of the plant.\u00a0That contamination has been\u00a0carried along currents in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
In 2012, Fukushima radiation was first detected 1,500 km off the coast of British Columbia.<\/strong><\/p>\nThough the contamination is of concern, the levels are still eight to 10 fold less than when nuclear weapons were being tested in 1960s. And, according to\u00a0Fukushima InFORM<\/a>, a Canadian-based monitoring organization, the levels do not pose a risk to public health or the ecosystem.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0https:\/\/fukushimainform.ca<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n February 2, 2017<\/p>\n For the first time, seaborne radiation from Japan\u2019s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has been\u00a0detected in a Canadian salmon<\/strong>, says UVic chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen, who leads the InFORM coastal network that monitors marine radioactivity off BC.<\/p>\n The single sockeye salmon contained a miniscule amount of cesium-134, the \u201cfingerprint\u201d isotope from Fukushima. The salmon was collected in Okanagan Lake in summer 2015 and was one of eight fish out of a total of 156 that tested positive for trace levels of cesium-137, also a manmade isotope, but not necessarily from Fukushima.<\/p>\n \u201cWith its roughly 30-year half-life, cesium-137 is still present in the environment from 20th-century nuclear weapons testing and Chernobyl, in addition to Fukushima,\u201d says Cullen. The team did more intense analysis to determine if the telltale cesium-134 was also present.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took these same eight fish and measured them for 60 times as long as we normally do to look for the Fukushima fingerprint,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is analogous to cupping your hand behind your ear to pick up a whisper from across the room.\u201d<\/p>\n The level of cesium-134 in the one salmon was 10,000 times lower than Health Canada safety guidelines, which is nowhere near a significant risk to consumers, says Cullen.<\/p>\n \u201cFor perspective, you would need to eat 1,000 to 1,500 kg of salmon with this level of contamination in a short period of time to increase your radiation dose by the same amount as a single five-hour cross-country airplane flight.\u201d<\/p>\n Testing in 2016 discovered one sockeye salmon from Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island with a \u201cminimum detectable concentration\u201d of cesium-137. Further testing is being done to determine whether it\u2019s traceable to Fukushima.<\/p>\n The radiation plume from Fukushima has spread throughout the northeast Pacific from Alaska to California with maximum levels of contamination expected nearshore this year and next.<\/p>\n The InFORM network involves scientists in Canada and the US, health experts, non-governmental organizations\u2014and citizen scientists along the BC coast who assist with the monthly collection of water, and annual collection of fish and shellfish samples for analysis.<\/p>\n The samples supplement measurements taken offshore by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and a citizen scientist network coordinated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that extends from the Bering Strait to San Diego.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the highest concentrations from this plume arrive in the next few years, we\u2019ll continue to monitor radioisotope levels and what kind of risks they pose,\u201d says Cullen. \u201cLevels measured now and predicted at their peak are unlikely to represent a significant health risk to the marine ecosystem or public health in BC.\u201d<\/p>\n InFORM is funded by the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network. For more information, visit\u00a0fukushimainform.ca<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.uvic.ca\/home\/about\/campus-news\/2017+a-minute-trace-of-fukushima-radiation-detected+ring<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n New research has found that radiation from the\u00a02011 Fukushima nuclear accident<\/a>\u00a0in Japan has reached more sites in the waters off the coast of North America.<\/p>\n The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has found\u00a0the highest level of contamination at a monitoring site about 1,600 miles west of San Francisco, with the sample returned as being 50 per cent higher than other samples.<\/p>\n However the level of radiation is\u00a0still 500 times lower than the U.S. government safety limit for drinking water. There is also no concern for boating or swimming within the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami, killing more than 10,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.<\/p>\n The massive earthquake also damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, causing three cooling systems to fail which resulted in partial meltdowns of some fuel rods. Contamination leaked out of the plant.\u00a0That contamination has been\u00a0carried along currents in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n In 2012, Fukushima radiation was first detected 1,500 km off the coast of British Columbia.<\/strong><\/p>\n Though the contamination is of concern, the levels are still eight to 10 fold less than when nuclear weapons were being tested in 1960s. And, according to\u00a0Fukushima InFORM<\/a>, a Canadian-based monitoring organization, the levels do not pose a risk to public health or the ecosystem.<\/p>\nMonitoring network detects minute trace of Fukushima radiation<\/h2>\n
Fukushima radiation is reaching North America, but the water is still safe<\/h2>\n
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