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Ocean food chain irreparably damaged by Fukushima radiation

The ocean, food chain, and Japan’s fishing industry have all been irreparably damaged by the Fukushima crisis, and that damage is still ongoing. The Japanese government and TEPCO’s excuses are only wasting time that should be put towards finding a solution.

TEPCO, Japanese government denying Fukushima radiation reaching ocean
fish http://japandailypress.com/tepco-japanese-government-denying-fukushima-radiation-reaching-ocean-fish-2018691 By Adam Westlake  /   November 20, 2012 In what must the most dumbfounding state of denial seen in modern times, both the Japanese government and utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) are disputing the recent study that showed radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant is leaking into the ocean.

18 months after the March 2011 nuclear disaster, the U.S.’s Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a respected research group, reported that 40% of the fish caught off the
coast of Fukushima were still testing positive for radioactive contamination above the government’s safety own limits.
Scientist Ken Buesseler of Woods Hole stated that while it was
expected to still find some levels of contamination, 40% was far too
high of a measurement after a year and a half had passed. He said
there are only two explanations for radiation remaining in the food
chain like this: either there is a source of radioactive cesium
somewhere on the seafloor, or it is being discharged into the sea by
contaminated groundwater from the Fukushima plant.

TEPCO and the Japanese government each deny one of the possibilities.
The Fisheries Agency, operated by the government, says the
contamination is sinking deeper into the seabed and therefore can’t be
still entering the food chain. TEPCO, on the other hand, states there
are no leaks of tainted ground water at the Fukushima nuclear site. A
spokesman for the utility company says their studies of the seabed
show low levels of contamination among the organisms that fish eat, so
they cannot clearly identify why fish are turning up with so much
radiation. TEPCO further suggests the theory that the radioactive
particles that were distributed into the mountains are slowly being
washing down into rivers and eventually making their way to the
seabed.
Speaking to Radio Australia, Buesseler pointed out that TEPCO is using
millions of liters of water to cool the Fukushima reactors, and the
fact that so much radiation is turning up in the ocean is proof that
the utility is not able to contain it all once it has been
contaminated. The Fisheries Agency has pointed out (probably to
TEPCO’s disfavor) that even if the cesium particles were washing down
from the mountains, it wouldn’t be enough to contaminate such a large
number of species. Although their theory is just as absurd: that the
cesium is gradually being absorbed into the seabed, and once that
occurs, it’s not so easily absorbed/ingested by organisms.

The results of Wood Hole’s study highlights the fact that it will be
at least several decades before fish from off of Fukushima’s coast
will be safe to catch and eat. The ocean, food chain, and Japan’s fishing industry have all been irreparably damaged by the Fukushima crisis, and that damage is still ongoing. The Japanese government and TEPCO’s excuses are only wasting time that should be put towards
finding a solution.

November 21, 2012 - Posted by Christina MacPherson | Japan, oceans, spinbuster