[Fukushima NukeBlog Index]
Japan Famous for Kobe Beef Now Fukushima Tuna
analysis by Arthur Hu
Bad news. OMG the cesium has gotten into globetrotting bluefin tuna off California. So says Nicholas Fisher and Zofia Baumann at Stony Brook University, and Daniel Madigan at Stanford University, who co-wrote an article in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The fish which is threatened because they are prized by sushi chefs has swam across the ocean "faster than the wind" from where they grew up around the Phillipines and Japan to San Diego. There 15 were caught last summer, shortly after the triple-meltdown at Fukushima dumped massive amounts of radioactive steam and water into and over the ocean, where it got into the small fish that the tuna feed on. Short-lived cesium 137 was detected which only occurs shortly after bombs or nuclear reactors blow up, and the longer-lived cesium 134 was FIVE TIMES background levels from the old atomic "tests". Overall radiation was a whopping 3 percent elevated over the last batch they looked at.
Good news is that while the levels are pretty easy to detect, it's not nearly as worrisome as the other harmful stuff in the fish that's there all the time. The worst contaminant is methyl mercury, of which they are still waiting for results. The neurotoxin is a risk for developing fetuses, which is why US mothers are advised to limit tuna consumption. The fish are expected to lose 2 percent of their cesium each day by normal excretion, and most of what Americans eat comes from farms. Even at 5 bq, either caesium is 35 times less than the amount of radioactive potassium, which is naturally-occurring in the fish (and bananas, which is what people usually talk about "banana-equivalent dose" which is among the most radioactive things we eat normally) Radioactive potassium, along with polonium-210 are the two most common and largest radioactive compounds in our foods,
Speaking of Mercury and Industrial Disaster and Disease
Speaking of mercury, not many people have made the connection between the Fukushima disaster, and the "Four Big Pollution Disease" disasters of Japan which caused far more sickness and suffering than the nuclear incident where most of the deaths have been caused by the evacuation, and there have been few or no actual sickness that have been accurately documented as being caused by the radiation. Minamata disease was caused by building a big industrial plant which dumped wastes full of organic mercury compounds into the bay. People who ate the seafood which was locally harvested suffered by debilitating or fatal nerve problems or gave birth to babies with problems.Minamata disease
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Minamata disease | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | T56.1 |
| ICD-9 | 985.0 |
| MedlinePlus | 001651 |
Minamata disease (Japanese: 水俣病 Hepburn: Minamata-byō), sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease (チッソ水俣病 Chisso-Minamata-byō), is a neurologicalsyndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbnessin the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and deathfollow within weeks of the onset of symptoms. A congenital form of the disease can also affect foetuses in the womb.
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| The crippled hand of a Minamata disease victim |
Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture,Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrialwastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968. This highly toxic chemical bioaccumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which when eaten by the local populace resulted in mercury poisoning. While cat, dog, pig, and human deaths continued over more than 30 years, the government and company did little to prevent the pollution.
As of March 2001, 2,265 victims had been officially recognised (1,784 of whom had died)[1] and over 10,000 had received financial compensation from Chisso.[2] By 2004, Chisso Corporation had paid $86 million in compensation, and in the same year was ordered to clean up its contamination.[3] On March 29, 2010, a settlement was reached to compensate as-yet uncertified victims.[4]
A second outbreak of Minamata disease occurred in Niigata Prefecture in 1965. The original Minamata disease and Niigata Minamata disease are considered two of theFour Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.
Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan (四大公害病 yondai kōgai-byō) were a group of manmade diseases all caused byenvironmental pollution due to improper handling of industrial wastes by Japanese corporations.[1] Although some cases of these diseases occurred as early as 1912, most occurred in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
| Name of disease | Cause | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minamata disease | Mercury poisoning | Chisso chemical factory | 1932 - 1968 |
| Niigata Minamata disease | Mercury poisoning | Shōwa Electrical Works | 1965 |
| Yokkaichi Asthma | Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide | Air pollution in Yokkaichi | 1961 |
| Itai-itai disease | Cadmium poisoning | Mining in Toyama Prefecture | 1912 |
Due to lawsuits, publicity, and other actions against the corporations responsible for the pollution, as well as the creation of theEnvironmental Agency in 1971, increased public awareness, and changes in the practices of the responsible companies, the incidence of these diseases declined after the 1970s.
Mercury Poisoning- The Minamata Story
May 29, 2012
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| Fukushima Radiation in Bluefin Tuna Expected to Fall BusinessWeek By Stuart Biggs on May 29, 2012 Radioactive material found in bluefin tuna that swam or fed in waters off the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan is likely to decrease over time as the material dilutes in the ocean, scientists said. the bluefin’s metabolism, which should excrete cesium at a rate of about 2 percent per day, Bluefin can grow as long as 3 meters (9.8 feet), and have been proven to travel as far as 45,000 miles in 16 months, Cesium levels found in the post-Fukushima bluefin were less than the radioactive doses naturally occurring in the fish from isotopes including potassium 40 See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Fukushima Radiation in Bluefin Tuna Is Expected to Decline Bloomberg Radioactive material found in bluefin tuna that swam or fed in waters off the crippled Fukushimanuclear plant in Japan is likely to decrease over time as the material dilutes in the ocean, scientists said. A study of 15 Pacific bluefin caught off San ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Softbank unveils post-Fukushima radiation smartphone Reuters TOKYO (Reuters) - Mobile phone operator Softbank Corp said on Tuesday it would soon begin selling smartphones with radiation detectors, tapping into concerns that atomic hotspots remain along Japan's eastern coast more than a year after the Fukushima ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Japan starts atomic watchdog debate, reactor decision nears Reuters The push to create a nuclear regulatory agency is part of Tokyo's efforts to allay public concerns about safety as it nears a decision on restarting some of its idled reactors, all of which have been shut down in the 14 months since Fukushima. See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Nuclear Tuna Is Hot News, But Not Because It's Going To Make You Sick NPR (blog) Really, it seems just plain daffy to ignore a new study that says some Pacific bluefin tuna picked up traces of radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year and brought it across the Pacific Ocean. And while, as a rule, ... Pacific bluefin tuna spawn off the coast of Japan. They are superb swimmers, so in a few months time, they make it across the Pacific to the coast of Mexico and Southern California to feed — and then get caught. They are also delicious, pricey and on the verge of population collapse, according to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
Last summer, scientists bought 15 of these beautiful fish from the docks in San Diego to check them for contaminants.
See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Bluefin Tuna Radiation: Is There A Health Risk? Huffington Post Scientists believe that the radiation -- in the form of the isotopes, caesium-137 and caesium-134 -- came from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in March of 2011. The rates of caesium-137 and caesium-134 were elevated about 3 percent, compared to previous ...The rates of caesium-137 and caesium-134 were elevated about 3 percent, compared to previous years in muscle samples taken from 15 two-year-old bluefin tuna caught off the coast of San Diego, Calif.
"That's definitely the mark of Fukushima,"..."Most likely, the [tuna] would have eaten some contaminated fish off the coast of Japan and then swam across the Pacific ocean."..In fact, according to the data, rates of caesium-137 and caesium-134 are 35 times less than the amount of radioactive potassium, which is naturally-occurring in the fish. Radioactive potassium, along with polonium-210 are the two most common and largest radioactive compounds in our foods, but even these give off far less radiation than other natural sources we are exposed to on an annual basis: radon, which occurs naturally in soil and rock, and cosmic rays....the fish that were used in this research were caught for sport, not for food.
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| Fukushima Nuclear Radiation Found in Pacific Bluefin Tuna - Inhabitat By Leon Kaye . Low levels of radiation from last year’s Fukushima Diaichii disaster in Japan have been discovered in bluefin tuna swimming of the California coast. Scientists say the trace amounts are not necessarily harmful to people if consumed, and were far less than safety limits the Japanese government has established. But the radiation evident in the tuna caught in August 2011 surprised scientists and revealed just how quickly fish can carry these compounds faster than winds or water currents. INHABITAT | ||
| Japan's Softbank unveils radiation detecting smartphone following ... By Trevor Mogg Read 'Japan's Softbank unveils radiation detecting smartphone following Fukushima disaster' on Digital Trends. Japanese mobile carrier Softbank has... Digital Trends | ||
| Evacuee's suicide sad reminder how Fukushima continues to claim ... By saeeda A 62-year-old evacuee from Fukushima Prefecture made a brief visit to his radiation-contaminated home, walked to his shuttered shop, and then hanged himself in a storage space. The death is yet another sad reminder how the March 11, ... This Just In | ||
| cryptogon.com » Tepco Admits Fukushima Disaster Released 2.5 ... By Kevin The radiation released in the first days of the Fukushima nuclear disaster was almost 2-1/2 times the amount first estimated by Japanese safety regulators, the operator of the crippled plant said in a report released on Thursday. Tokyo Electric ...
Tokyo Electric Power said its own analysis conducted over the past year put the amount of radiation released in the first three weeks of the accident at about one-sixth the radiation released during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
estimated meltdowns at three Fukushima reactors released about 900,000 terabecquerels of radioactive substances into the air during March.
cryptogon.com |
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