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Studying the effects of Fukushima radiation in the ocean

The scientists say the effects of radioactive contamination in ocean waters, sediments and fish is not well understood. The Japanese nuclear disaster is the worst release of radioactive materials into an ocean.

Scientific voyage to study Japanese nuclear impact on ocean, MiamiHerald.com, By RENEE SCHOOF, McClatchy Newspapers, WASHINGTON, 4 June 11 — A team of scientists will set out Saturday from Hawaii on a research expedition to study how radioactive contamination from the nuclear power plant crisis in Japan has spread in the Pacific Ocean and what effects it will have on marine life, the food chain and human health.

The scientists say the effects of radioactive contamination in ocean waters, sediments and fish is not well understood. The Japanese nuclear disaster is the worst release of radioactive materials into an ocean.

The contaminated water in the ocean is diluted to much lower levels as it travels from the plant to waters far offshore. Miles from shore, the elevated levels of radiation aren’t a direct public health hazard, but there are still many questions about the impact of long-lived isotopes that can accumulate in the food chain and in sediments, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which is leading the trip.

The chief scientist, Ken Buesseler, said it’s critical to get observations of radioactive contaminants, or radionuclides, in the water and in marine life……Nick Fisher of the State University of New York at Stony Brook will lead the team of researchers looking at microscopic plants and animals at the base of the food chain, as well as seaweed, fish and shellfish consumed by people, to determine how much radioactive material they accumulate…….

Scientific voyage to study Japanese nuclear impact on ocean – Politics Wires – MiamiHerald.com

June 4, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, oceans