Fukushima Fallout (More)

I spent some time looking at the internet for information about the contamination of the North Pacific Ocean by the toxic plume being discharged at Fukushima.

 

It’s hard to know which articles are “hysteria,” and which ones are “coverup.”  You can get a sampling of what’s out there by googling radiation + “Pacific Ocean” + Fukushima.

 

Apparently someone recently has taken a Geiger Counter to Surfer’s Beach in San Francisco and a reading close to the breaking waves is 5 x what normal background radiation should be.  Readings farther away from the surf line were “normal.”  The higher readings were apparently due to the contaminated ocean water, the mist that the waves brings in to shore. 

 

There are also sea life troubles including starfish wasting syndrome (SWS), although this was observed to be happening (from unknown causes) before Fukushima.  Some salmon populations are under stress, and sea lion colonies have shown symptoms of disease consistent with starvation, and possibly poisoning.  There have been bluefin tuna taken from the ocean with obvious radiation sickness and damage.  The bluefin travels great distances, and has no doubt come in contact with the contaminated water.  Some articles note that yellowfin tuna and some other fish types taken are “normal,” however.  (I guess these fish don’t travel over the entire North Pacific?)  The species that are high on the food chain (like sea lions) will eventually suffer the most damage.

 

The worst part of the toxic plume of water is now lying from northeast of Hawaii to the Pacific Coast.  It will hit the US Pacific coast hard during 2014.  The source of the plume has NOT been contained in Japan, so radiation levels will continue to build.  For a few years it will stay in the North Pacific Ocean, as there is relatively little transfer of water from north to south.  The plume will double back, and will eventually hit Taiwan and the Philippines, in a somewhat diluted state.

 

The US has no plans for monitoring the ocean water.  Knowing how beloved cover-ups are for the US government, this makes me suspect that there IS danger.  As usual, the “what me worry?” attitude seems to be in force.  It would be a fairly inexpensive study to undertake.  One article stated that there is a bill before the Japanese Diet to ban all future reporting on Fukushima within Japan.  At any rate, there is actually nothing that anyone can do about it anyway – except to try to contain the source water from being discharged into the ocean.  It is surprising that the Japanese government didn’t ask for immediate international help with this, taking a “we can take care of it” stance instead.    

 

So, from all this, it would probably be a good idea to stop eating seafood of all kinds.  Also stay away from the beach, and do not swim in the water.  The radiation will stay at elevated levels for decades, although the radioactive iodine mostly will disappear within a couple of years.