nuclear-news

Fish found to have record radiation levels, near coast of Fukushima

Record radiation found in fish off Japan http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/record-radiation-found-in-fish-off-japan/story-e6frfkui-1226456080459#ixzz24P8h1Smb August 22, 2012 RECORD levels of radioactive caesium were detected in fish caught within 20 kilometres of Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
The operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said it had found 25,800 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive caesium in greenling, 258 times higher than the government safety standard.

Fishing in waters off the plant has been voluntarily restricted since
the nuclear disaster at the plant, which went into meltdown after the
March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Less than a month after the start of the disaster, Tokyo Electric
dumped more than 11,000 tonnes of wastewater containing radioactive
substances into the Pacific.

The previous record of radioactive contamination in fish was 18,700
becquerels per kilogram detected in cherry salmon caught in March,
according to the Fisheries Agency.Wakao Hanaoka, a Greenpeace Japan
official, said the government now needs to carry out a full
investigation of radioactive contamination in a wide range of sea
areas off Fukushima, which has not been done yet.
The organisation’s surveys show higher levels of radioactive
contamination were found in fish and seaweed sampled in areas further
from the Fukushima plant.
Factors that affect the spread of contamination include ocean currents
and seabed configuration, Hanaoka added.

August 23, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, oceans