Bioaccumulation Of Radiation In Fresh Water And Salt Water Fish After Chernobyl And Fukushima

/ AGR Free Press

In the video above, we explore how to detect radiation in food. Why is this the ‘new normal’? With radiation accumulating in food, both animal, vegetable and fruit, we have no way of knowing how much radiation is in it. It is now becoming necessary to test ALL food before consuming it, due to the overwhelming magnitude of radiation contamination from many areas and nuclear facilities globally, not to mention depleted uranium weapons use. 

Toxic radiation accumulates in water supplies after nuclear accidents. Radiation bioconcentrates in fish that live in fresh water and salt water. Runoff of fresh water from land which has been contaminated ends up contaminating oceans, and salt water creatures that live in it. Radiation can and does accumulate and bioconcentrate in fish and other creatures that live in the ocean, just like mercury, for example.  


Most mass media stories about this subject downplay the hazards of nuclear radiation accumulating in animals or other foods. These ‘experts’ end up saying that despite increasing radiation levels in fish, there is ‘no immediate impact on health’. Although these are soothing words, there is little truth in these reports. 

For example, they ignore the fact that children and infants are up to 2,000 times more sensitive to the same low dose of radiation in food or drink. What may be ‘harmless’ for at least a short period to a 200 pound adult healthy male, may be deadly to an egg, sperm, fetus, and/or highly toxic to a fetus,  baby or even a small child. 


If the radiation released from nuclear accidents, uranium recycling plants and nuclear dumping is so harmless, why is there so much resistance to independent experts doing radiation testing of fish, seaweed and shellfish? Medical facilities, hospitals and labs are not ALLOWED to test for radiation in Japan. This looks very much like a cover up. If it is  NOT a coverup, what would a coverup look like. Would a coverup consist of a nation blocking all efforts to monitor and test for radiation by outside independent radiation ‘experts’?


Marine radiation monitoring blocked by Japanese … – Greenpeace Apr 28, 2011… “Now we are getting closer to Fukushima, the Japanese government has begun obstructing our efforts to do independent research. The sparse data published by the government and TEPCO is not enough to understand the real risks of the continuous leakage of radioactive water in the sea. 

The Japanese people are in great need of independent information on the radioactive contamination of their seafood supply. Therefore, we are planning to do research on the radioactive contamination of seaweed, fish and shellfish.


Despite this great need for information, the Japanese government today refused a permit to do research within the territorial waters of Japan. We are allowed to conduct research outside this 12 mile zone, but this is not the area where the Japanese catch their fish and collect their seaweed.”


Marine life soaking up radiation along Fukushima coast | Greenpeace May 27, 2011 … “After having difficulties finding a lab in Japan to do detailed radiation analysis, (in other words, total shutdown of all labs) we sent samples of seaweed, fish, and shellfish collected by our radiation monitoring teams both onshore and on the Rainbow to professional labs in France and Belgium. The results of the details analysis are back – and we can say that the situation in the ocean along the Fukushima coast is worse than we originally thought.

The new data shows that some seaweed contamination levels are not only 50 times higher than safety limits – far higher than our initial measurements showed – but also that the contamination is spreading over a wide area, and accumulating in sea life, rather than simply dispersing like the Japanese authorities originally claimed would happen.”

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/marine-life-soaking-up-radiation-along-fukush/blog/35003/

In October, a U.S. study – co-authored by oceanographer Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the non-profit Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass., – reported Fukushima caused history’s biggest-ever release of radiation into the ocean – 10 to 100 times more than the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.


“It’s completely untrue to say this level of radiation is safe or harmless,” said Gordon Edwards, president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.


Edwards, who is also a math professor at Vanier College, said Fukushima has highlighted how lackadaisical Canadian authorities are about radiation risks – the result, he says, of the influence of Canada’s powerful nuclear industry.

“The reassurances have been completely irresponsible. To say there are no health concerns flies in the face of all scientific evidence,” said Edwards, who has advised the federal auditor-general’s office and Ontario government on nuclear-power issues.

Seaweed contamination cause for concern in Japan | Greenpeace May 13, 2011 … Fukushima; Pacific Ocean radiation levels up 45 million times normal. 


Fish caught close to the Fukushima nuclear plant was 2,500 times over the legal safe radiation limit. The murasoi fish, which is comparable to a rockfish, was found in the area surrounding the now-closed power plant.

The Pacific Ocean has currents in northern Japan, which create a counterclockwise rotation in the ocean there. Another swirl allows Fukusima radiation to come back around to the area around Tokyo in central Japan.  These roations in the ocean recirculate the radiation around and around right around the coast of Japan. This is one explanation for cesium levels of 25,800 Bq. per Kg. in fish  in this area. 

At 4:30 into the NASA Simulation of Global Ocean Currents we can see the ocean current swirl off northern Japan above. Watch the entire video of all of the ocean currents below…

“Sky-high levels of radioactivity in fish from Fukushima means inedible seafood for at least a decade”

Published: November 13th, 2012
However, in August, two greenlings caught 20 kilometers north of the Fukushima plant were found to have cesium levels of 25,800 becquerels per kilogram, the highest level ever measured in fish since the nuclear accident. The government standard for food is 100 becquerels per kilogram. 
http://enenews.com/asahi-govt-worried-about-highly-radioactive-fish-why-are-radiation-readings-still-100s-of-times-over-official-safe-limit

Japan Times: “There could be hot spots under the sea” says Tokyo prof. — “No telling when contamination levels will peak” — 1/3 of fish caught in Gunma lake over max. cesium limit February 4, 2012



RADIATION IN FRESH WATER FISH

..In March, tests recorded a level of 18,700 becquerels per kilogram in freshwater salmon in the Niidagawa river near Iitate […]

http://enenews.com/asahi-govt-worried-about-highly-radioactive-fish-why-are-radiation-readings-still-100s-of-times-over-official-safe-limit

10 million Bequerels of Cesium-134/137 is still being released every single hour from reactors 1, 2 and 3 – December 27th, 2012

“High cesium levels discovered in Tokyo river eels, local governments make belated study. A worrying phenomenon has been discovered in Tokyo river eels that have been caught by local residents living near the Edogawa River – the eels that they have been catching, and may have eaten at one time or another, have very high cesium levels, in most cases higher than the safe levels required by the Japanese government.”

http://japandailypress.com/high-cesium-levels-discovered-in-tokyo-river-eels-local-governments-make-belated-study-1729085


Kyodo: Radioactive trout over 100 times gov’t limit caught in Fukushima river
A mountain trout caught in a Fukushima Prefecture river [Niida River in Minamisoma city] returned a radioactive cesium reading of 11,400 becquerels per kilogram, more than 100 times the government-set limit for food items, a survey by the Environment Ministry said Friday. […]
The survey conducted in June and July also found 4,400 becquerels of radioactive cesium in a smallmouth bass and 3,000 becquerels in a catfish in Mano Dam in Iitate village, another municipality heavily affected by the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. […]

Asahi: Gov’t worried about highly radioactive fish — Why are radiation readings still 100s of times over official safe limits?

Let’s take a look at what happens to fish and their radiation levels after a nuclear accident. Here is a comparison to todays reporting on fish contamination levels, this article is from from July 19, 2012. Compare this to todays article.


Post-Fukushima, Japan’s irradiated fish worry B.C. experts


The highest cesium level in all of the catches came in March—a year after the accident—when a landlocked masu salmon caught in a Japanese river was found to have a whopping 18,700 becquerels of cesium per kilogram—or 187 times Japan’s ceiling.
“Those are high numbers. It would give me pause if I were eating fish in Japan.…Imported fish are also a concern,” said Fisher, a marine-sciences professor at New York’s Stony Brook University. Fisher added in a phone interview that the persistently high cesium numbers may be a sign that the Fukushima plant is still leaking radiation into the ocean.
The data shows the contamination has remained high in both saltwater species and freshwater fish found in Japanese lakes and rivers. Especially high cesium levels have been found in recent months in these saltwater species: halibut (a catch in May 2012 had 570 Bq/kg), sole (a catch in January had 180 Bq/kg), and cod (a catch in February had 260 Bq/kg).
Bioaccumulation of cesium-137 in yellow bullhead catfish (Ameiurus natalis) inhabiting an abandoned nuclear reactor reservoir.
Asahi: Cesium started spiking in Chernobyl wildlife during recent years — “Researchers don’t really understand” why or how.
Published: November 13th, 2012
…in March, tests recorded a level of 18,700 becquerels per kilogram in freshwater salmon in the Niidagawa river near Iitate […]
Highest Yet: Fish 20 times more radioactive than any other caught since 3/11 — 380 times limit for cesium -NHK August 21, 2012

Nuclear plants also release radiation directly into rivers and other ‘cooling’ water even when they are operating normally, without any accidents happening. 
Tritium in Water and Bioaccumulation of Cesium and Strontium
Transport and accumulation of cesium-137 and mercury in the Clinch River and Watts Bar Reservoir system

According to Enenews; “The serious accidents of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant have been contaminating a vast area in eastern Japan, home of 60 million people. […]
The widespread contamination in eastern Japan
To the south west of Fukushima prefecture, there lies the Kanto region which as well as containing the metropolitan prefecture of Tokyo also comprises Ibaraki prefecture, Tochigi prefecture, Gunma prefecture, Saitama prefecture, and Chiba prefecture. In the area, there is the Tone river basin that is the one of biggest river basins (16,840 km2) in Japan. […]
[…] In areas within a radius of 100 km from the nuclear plant, active cesium contamination levels of the Ayu are more than 200 Bq/kg. In those between a radius of 100 km and 200 km, it is around 60–200 Bq/kg. In those between a radius of 200 km and 300 km in which Tokyo is included, it is 20–60 Bq/kg. Therefore, it is estimated that contamination of freshwater fish is extended to all prefectures in eastern Japan. The contamination is recognized as far as Shizuoka prefecture, 400 km south-west from the plant. […]

The problem of radiation contaminated ocean and freshwater fish and other life is not limited to Japan, and the 60 million people mentioned above. Remember that fish and plants bio concentrate radiation, so the low levels mentioned are going to be much higher in animals and plants. 

The USA is importing Japanese food (including fish and seaweed) with no restrictions. The Japanese are exporting food even from these contaminated regions.  What happens to a pregnant mom, a baby, or child if they eat contaminated seaweed, tea, or fish? 



The US government has raised the ‘allowed’ or ‘safe’ level of radiation in US food. Thus, all food is now safe, even if it is contaminated. India however, has banned all imports of Japanese food. The corporate owned mass media only talks about how ‘safe’ everything is, without getting into the actual process of bioaccumulation of radiation in foods. Their mantra seems to be to protect profits at all costs. The mass media keeps people stupid and buying everything, no matter how contaminated it is. 

Radiation contaminated foods are regularly exported from contaminated areas around other nuclear accidents, because the financial losses are too high to bear, if the damage and harm were truly acknowledged. No one wants to lose their farm and their way of life. No one wants to stop fishing, hunting, or collecting seaweed, mussels and other shellfish. 

Because of the profit motive and pressure from people who do not care about the health of future generations, contaminated fish and other food is grown and exported to other countries. In this way, radiation contamination spreads around the globe, into billions of people. 

Have you ever wondered why the cancer rate among children is going up each year? Why are whole hospitals now dedicated to caring for children with cancer, leukemia and other ‘adult’ or old age diseases? These things did not exist just a few generations ago. Yes, there may be other causes, but certainly radiation should be counted as just ONE of those causes. 

Bioaccumulation Of Radiation In Fresh Water And Salt Water Fish After Chernobyl And Fukushima; via @AGreenRoad

For more articles like this; 

Animals And Low Level Radiation Effects
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/p/animals-and-low-level-radiation-effects.html