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Fukushima fish unsafe for years http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/fukushima-fish-unsafe-for-years-20121027-28c60.html#ixzz2AipJXQYL October 28, 2012 Fiona Harvey FISH from the waters around the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan could be too radioactive to eat for a decade to come, as samples show radioactivity levels remain elevated and show little sign of coming down, a marine scientist has warned.
A paper published in the journal Science on Thursday, stated large and
bottom-dwelling species carry most risk, which means cod, flounder,
halibut, pollock, skate and sole from the waters in question could be
off limits for years.
Sample fish caught in waters near the stricken reactors suggest there
is still a source of caesium either on the sea floor or still being
discharged into the sea, perhaps from what is left of the cooling
waters. As the levels of radioactive isotopes in the fish are not
declining as fast as they should have, the outlook for fishing in the
area is likely to be poor for the next 10 years, the paper’s author
said.
”These fish could have to be banned for a long time. The most
surprising thing for me was that the levels [of radioactivity] in the
fish were not going down. There should have been much lower numbers,”
said Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution in the US, who wrote the paper Fishing For Answers Off
Fukushima.

He said his findings – taken in part from Japanese research and
sampling of fish in the area – showed how difficult it was to predict
the outcome of a nuclear incident such as that at Fukushima.,,,,
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/fukushima-fish-unsafe-for-years-20121027-28c60.html#ixzz2AipJXQYL

October 29, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general