nuclear-news

USA – look out for radioactive young bluefin tuna

Bluefin Tuna Off California Coast Tainted With Fukushima Radiation (But Scientists Say It’s Okay To Eat) laist.com, 5 Jan 13, Scientists ran tests on bluefin tuna off the coast of California and found traces of radiation from last year’s Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

Scientists examined the muscle tissue of 15 Bluefin tuna who were swimming off the shores of San Diego in August 2011 and were stunned to find traces of caesium-134, according to BBC News. That radioactive element can be directly tied to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster a few months earlier.

Scientists say these fish were likely spawned in Japanese waters and picked up the pollution before heading to feeding grounds in the eastern Pacific ocean. “It’s a lesson to us in how interconnected eco-regions can be, even when they may be separated by thousands of miles,” Nicholas Fisher, a professor of marine sciences at Stony Brook University told BBC News. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences….. tuna caught in coming months will be monitored for radiation levels, since younger fish might have spent more time in Japanese waters and received higher levels of contamination. http://laist.com/2013/01/05/bluefin_tuna_off_california_tainted.php

January 7, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | oceans, USA