Radioactive fish in Japan-part 2

The seafood nightmare just got worse. Radioactive cesium 137 has been found at harmful levels in fish in Japan. This element has a half-life of 30 years, so this contamination won't dissapate quickly like short-lived radioactive iodine.

This is probably coming from the highly radioactive water spilling from the damaged reactors.

According to PanOrient News:

Fisheries minister Michihiko Kano said later in the day that the government intends to toughen inspections of marine products in Ibaraki and increase the number of inspections off Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, in light of the continuing leaks of radioactive materials into the Pacific Ocean from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Private companies are taking matters into their own hands. I just happended to notice this press release from Royal Greenland:

During the current events in Japan, there have been some concerns about the safety of food stuffs from this area. We are monitoring the situation in Japan closely, including the hazard of contamination of our raw materials that come from or transit in this area.

The raw material currently used in our factories have been caught, processed and shipped before the catastrophic events occurred. Fish caught, processed or shipped in this area of the world after the 11th of March 2011 will only be handled at our factories after satisfying results of relevant analyses. Current goods on stock are exclusively taken from 2010 catches. We will submit to international requirements for controlling and analyzing of the quality in general of our goods and raw material.

This means that all products from the Pacific or stocked goods from Japan will be thoroughly analyzed before sales and we are in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities regarding the situation.

How long will it be before Royal Greenland will open the doors again for seafood from the region? I wonder what other seafood companies are doing.

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Radioactive fish in Japan

The radioactive seafood nightmare is beginning. Radioactive fish were found today in Japan.

Harmful levels of radioactive iodine were found in sand lance, small fish that feed on plankton. Later, larger predatory fish will acquire radioactivity from eating smaller fish.

Radioactive iodine has a half-life of 8 days, meaning it loses radioactivity quickly. More worrisome are the longer-lasting radioactive elements likely to show up later if releases of radioactive water continue. Stay tuned.

From SeafoodSource.com:

About 20,000 metric tons of low-level contaminated waste water is being released from holding ponds at each of two reactors owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to make room for more highly contaminated water, as the company struggles to cool overheating fuel rods.

Plankton and small fishes that are low on the foodchain, like the sand lance, are expected to be affected first. As larger fish consume these smaller fish, the substances may become concentrated; however, unlike the case of mercury, the radiation will dissipate over time. Radioactive iodine has a half-life of eight days, and if the problems at the reactor can be solved it should not pose a long-term hazard to human health.

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Our radioactive ocean

Radioactive iodine is now at scary levels in the ocean near Japan's broken reactors. But we're advised not to worry because the area has been evacuated and fishing has been stopped.

Also, radioactive iodine will decay quickly and become non-radioactive iodine (this is true).

What this doesn't tell us is whether other radioactive elements that last longer are also leaking. One expert says that more releases are likely because it appears that one reactor core has suffered a meltdown.

I think we should expect more bad news about our radioactive ocean, including some elements that are more worrying than iodine.

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Seafood crisis in Japan

Seafood demand is down in Japan, way down. "The fish are here, but nobody's buying," says one fish seller about business at the Tsukiji auction, Japan's premier fish market.

Tsukiji is normally a busy city, with some 60,000 workers, but prices have plunged by up to 50% for some seafood products.

"The drop in demand from sushi restaurants and the cancellation of weddings and banquets at hotels are partly to blame," an official of the market's marine and agricultural produce section said.

Radiation fears are also a problem according to mysinchew.com:

Food safety fears have risen since radiation from the coastal Fukushima plant has been detected in vegetables and dairy products grown nearby, and after iodine levels in Tokyo tap water rose above levels safe for infants.

There has been no official warning about the impact on marine life, but operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday that iodine-131 levels in the ocean near the plant were 145 times the legal level, Kyodo News reported.

Japan's seafood world is reeling, and the outcome is far from clear. The problems will likely persist for some time. The biggest long-term risk may be the radiation scare that already has some seafood buyers scared (see photo above of a chef screening imported seafood for radioactivity).

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Nuclear reactor crisis in simple terms

Japan tries to explain the nuclear reactor crisis to kids. What do you think?

… Japanese artist Kazuhiko Hachiya has made a cartoon to help ease the small minds of the nation. “Nuclear Boy” chronicles Fukushima’s reactor cracks and radiation leaks in a way that’s easily relatable to kids:

The nuclear power plant has a tummy ache, and we’re trying to make sure it’s not going to take a great big poop all over the country.

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Radiation fears? Civil society steps up

Here's an amazing website that shows radiation measurements taken around the world, designed to help display the radiation problems caused by the Japanese reactor crisis.

Active people responding to a crisis...quickly...when an information vacuum is scary. Go see for yourself, at rdtn.org

Thank you rdtn.org!

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