Late last year I posted my thoughts about Fukushima, sadly admitting that I hadn’t recalled hearing about it till then, despite the tsunami taking place in 2011… Sadly the affect the destroyed nuclear power plant has still yet to be fully determined.
Scientists predict that in less than 2 months the radioactive debris from Fukushima will hit the west coast of the States and Canada. That part is inevitable, obviously, I mean think about it, millions of gallons of radioactive waste being drained into the ocean, eventually those radioactive particles will reach the world over… However what astonishes me, is that neither the Canadian government, not the US government see it as being a issue. No government funded agency is doing any testing on the water stating that by the time it gets here it will be so diluted it won’t harm us. But giving such a statement without having tests done is careless to say the least.
Here is a quote I have taken from one of the two articles I have read in the past 24 hours which sparked the writing of this post:
There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO, immediate past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.”
Another quote from the article puts it right into perspective.
Please excuse us for being so obnoxiously blunt, but this is how we see it: If you have a gallon pitcher of fresh, pure, clean, drinking water on a table and someone walked up to it and dropped a single drop of URINE into the gallon, would you think it’s no big deal? Would it still be “OK” to drink in your mind?
Yeah, I wouldn’t, despite the fact that it would be so diluted it would be considered “Safe to drink”.
The other issue, if you read my previous article, is although the water may be “safe”, the food we get from the oceans won’t be. Take a look at the biological ecosystem and food chain in the ocean. The several steps it takes, from the microbes to the food tuna and salon eat, it compounds every step… the water may be 1ppm radiation, by the time it gets to the tuna, it would be a lot more concentrated, and after a while of eating contaminated food, the radiation is compounded even more into the tuna/salmon, to the point where it poisons itself.
Sadly because no one has really stepped up (Hello, Governments… this is your job) we don’t know the extent of the damage… Its constantly swept under the rug. Thankfully a private company has stepped up to take on the challenge, however without Government funding they have had to resort to Crowdfunding. Ourradioactiveocean.org which is run by CMER (Center for Marine and Environment Radiation) is a site where you can crouwdfund the testing of the oceans water in several locations along the coast, You can also see the current progress.
As of right now they are have not picked up any sign of the Cesium 134 isotpes, and the presence of Cesium 137 is very minimal (137 is reminantes of offshore nuclear bomb testing… Yet another issue to cover; how we screwed up our world in search of ultimate domination).
The article I read cites a lot of info from the BBC, and of course their own recommendations on what to do if you are a resident of the west coast. Food for thought.
Source: Turner Radio Network, CBC