nuclear-news

Need to monitor Fukushima radionuclides reaching West Coast of USA

“Radionuclides from Fukushima due to hit U.S. West Coast any day now” — Senior Scientist: “Really bizarre” U.S. gov’t not testing for it — Concerned officials contacting him about threat http://enenews.com/plume-of-water-carrying-radionuclides-from-fukushima-due-to-hit-u-s-west-coast-any-day-now-senior-scientist-its-really-bizarre-that-u-s-govt-is-not-doing-any-testing-concerned-offic

Cape Cod Times, Nov. 24, 2013:

Model shows estimated location of plume in 2014

With the first plume of water carrying radionuclides from Fukushima due to hit the U.S. West Coast any day now, [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Senior Scientist Ken] Buesseler’s latest project is to convince the federal government to monitor radiation levels in the sea water. […] He predicts the radiation will be so diluted after the long journey across the Pacific that it will pose no threat […] But he knows that’s not enough to reassure the public. […] he knows people are concerned […] he fields regular phone calls from surfers and salmon fishermen as well as congressmen. […]

Federal Government
[Buesseler] spent this past week in Washington, D.C., meeting with representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, asking them to come up with some sort of plan to keep tabs on levels of radionuclides […] Buesseler also talked with U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., […] Markey said in an email that an increased federal role is not likely considering the budgetary brakes being applied by the Republicans in Congress. “The sequester is a double-punch, cutting funding for the agencies charged with promoting scientific discovery and protecting our natural resources,” he said.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Senior Scientist Ken Buesseler:  We’ve known that for two and half years. Every day they are making contaminated water […] I’m a little disappointed in Japan. What (the denial has) done is made the public extremely mistrustful. […]  We don’t have a U.S. agency responsible for radiation in the ocean […] It’s really bizarre. […] Given what’s happened at Fukushima […] Wouldn’t you want to have some measurement?

More from Buesseler: Graphic: 900-mile-long “front” of most contaminated water from Fukushima Daiichi moving across Pacific toward U.S., Canada (VIDEO)

November 26, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | oceans, USA