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Radiation in seafoods

“[People] should not venture into the ocean [where the radioactive materials are being released]; they should not eat any fish or seaweed from the ocean.

“The living species likely to be most affected are shellfish because they are stationary whereas fish that swim may pass through the area and out again. The shellfish such as mussels, oysters and clams certainly accumulate high levels of radioactivity….

Japanese earthquake | what Japan’s new nuclear crisis rating means, Sydney Morning Herald, Glenda Kwek April 12, 2011 As Japan raised the severity level of its nuclear crisis to match Chernobyl’s seven, an Australian scientist explained what that meant.

Chemistry and physics professor Stephen Lincoln, of Adelaide University, said the main worry was the food stock in the ocean, where much of the radioactive material was being released.While one of the radioactive substances, iodine-131, had a half-life of nine days, two others – caesium-137 and strontium-90 – could be more harmful in the long term as they had half-lives of 30 years, he said…….

“[People] should not venture into the ocean [where the radioactive materials are being released]; they should not eat any fish or seaweed from the ocean.

“The living species likely to be most affected are shellfish because they are stationary whereas fish that swim may pass through the area and out again. The shellfish such as mussels, oysters and clams certainly accumulate high levels of radioactivity….

A level seven incident entails a major release of radiation with widespread health and environmental effects, while a five-rated event is a limited release of radioactive material, with several deaths from radiation, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The scale is designed so the severity of an event is about 10 times greater for each increase in level.

Professor Lincoln said workers at the nuclear plant had to get the cores of the reactors continuously underwater to keep them cool, “otherwise it’s going to go on and on and on unfortunately”.

Japanese earthquake | what Japan’s new nuclear crisis rating means

April 19, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan