Radiation Exposure from Eating Pacific Bluefin Tuna Affected by Fukushima

[FBaggins]

Nuke Accident Minuscule, US Researchers Say.

32 microsieverts per year or 0.032 millisievert per year, for the Japanese people in Japan, 0.9 microsievert per year or 0.0009 millisievert per year for people in the US.

Exposure from radioactive polonium in fish is much greater than radioactive cesium of Fukushima origin, says Professor Nicholas Fisher at Stony Brook University in New York.　 See Table 1 at the bottom of the post.)

He also says the the amount of radioactive cesium in bluefin tuna caught off the coast of San Diego in 2012 dropped in half, compared to the bluefin tuna caught in 2011.

...snip...
From CNN -
Even subsistence fishermen, who eat far more fish than the typical American, would receive a dose of radiation from the cesium isotopes released in the meltdown equivalent to a single dental X-ray, Fisher and his colleagues reported. That translates to a "worst-case scenario" of two additional cancer deaths for every 10 million people in that category, he said.


http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2013/06/radiation-exposure-from-eating-pacific.html

FukuCesium levels down by half in the last year? Well gee... that's not what I was told to expect.

I guess the "bio-accumulation uber ales!" crowd needs a lesson in biological half lives.

[pscot]

1. Good

[RobertEarl]

4. It is good

Any news that is not bad news when it is about nuclear plants blowing up and polluting the planet, is nice.

But this reminds me of the climate deniers that say: It's snowing, there is no warming!

[indie9197]

2. Bluefin tuna are a pelagic, migratory fish

They aren't hanging around the Fukushima area. Their results don't surprise me. How about publishing the results of samples taken of local seaweed, shellfish, and fish? It wouldn't be such a rosy picture I am thinking!

[FBaggins]

3. Good point

Except that the US doesn't consume much seaweed shellfish or fish from the Fukushima area (particularly since commercial fishing from there is limited to a few species) - and this article was sparked by a study last year of contamination in tuna off the West coast.

But you're correct in your assumption. A significant percentage of the fish caught off the coast of Fukushima has been above their guidelines for consumption - though only the bottom-feeding ones caught literally right next to the plant have been at the really high levels.

[hunter]

5. Don't look at me. I'd ban all commercial fishing.

Any concerns I have about radioactive fish are for the marine mammals and a very limited number of subsistence fishing people.

Everyone else can eat fish farmed in sewage lagoons and power plant cooling ponds. That might give us some incentives to keep the water we use clean.

Fukushima is bad, but living near a busy highway or coal fired power plant is probably worse.

Most of the animal protein I ate as a kid was fish caught in Santa Monica bay, back when the Hyperion sewage plant dumped minimally treated sewage and sludge full of industrial chemicals into it.

Eating all that fish probably wasn't good for me. Same with all that solar radiation I got. Thus far most of the nasty tumors I've had cut out of me were caused by the sun. Southern California beaches were not the ideal environment for melanin deficient humans such as myself. People thought a tan was healthy. That was crazy. I have skin that proves it.

I can't get worked up about Fukushima. I suspect many other wretched toxins were spilled by the tsunami but they are overlooked because they don't make a radiation counter tick.

Tritium, radioactive cesium, freak out! Chemical carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, etc.? Meh, those seem to be much less troublesome to some religions.

[FBaggins]

6. Well said

Except that I like fish. My consumption is limited by the fact that the good stuff is awfully expensive and the affordable stuff isn't all that great.

I have read a number of experts who say that the temporary ban on fishing off Fukushima is a good thing as the area has been overfished. OTOH, that's one of the most fertile areas in the world (because of the combination of cold/warm currents from north and south)... so it may not take long for a healthier population to return.

[hunter]

7. I've always known where the food I ate came from.

I caught my first fish as a toddler and my great grandma cut it up and fried it in a pan. I've eaten chicken, pigs, sheep, deer, beef, rattlesnake, and grubs I've seen alive.

It's probably the reason I'm mostly vegetarian now. I respect the few animals I eat. I know and accept my occasional carnivore self.

If I was really hungry the local ring-neck doves, European pigeons, and wild pigs, all non-native species around here, would probably be on my short list for dinner. Maybe I'd raise tilapia. But for now veggies are good. One kid's SO is vegetarian, I have a few relatives who are vegetarian, my wife is vegetarian, but I like fish. It's a childhood "comfort food."

I pay attention to this:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

Some kind of "best Choices" seafood in a vegetable stew or chowder, sourdough bread, fresh organic fruit, beer or wine... that's my best dinner on Earth.