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The radioactive stream of toxic fluids released during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster will reach the West Coast of the US by March 2014, but a paper published in the October 2013 edition of the journal Deep-Sea Research says it’s unlikely to be harmful.
The authors tracked the radiation’s path using a range of ocean simulations, which allowed them to identify where it would likely travel through the world’s oceans in the next decade.
They came to the conclusion that most radioactive materials will stay in the North Pacific, with very little crossing south of the Equator in the next 10 years. But over a number of decades, a measurable yet harmless signature of the radiation will spread into other ocean basins, particularly the Indian and South Pacific oceans.
Only last week, Japan’s nuclear watchdog declared the radioactive water leak at the crippled plant had reached a rank-three, which is the highest level in two years. The news came a day after plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) acknowledged that about 300 tonnes of radioactive water had leaked from one of the tanks that hold water used to cool the reactors.
Experts believe the plant will stay susceptible to failures for years, while the work of dismantling and cleaning up the damaged reactors is expected to take decades.
Image courtesy of Ratical
See also: Fukushima leak may have been overstated: nuclear watchdog
11 Comments
Guest
Why aren’t we and other leading nations stepping in to help them with this? Why is Japan’s need for help being ignored?
Yep
Maybe Amurika should help stop this radiation leaking into the Pacific rather than fight useless wars over oil… I mean freedom… I mean… Oil. Or, this could be an easy way to help curb over population?
ken brandt
especially in the ultraliberal northwest?
Carly
Syria gassed citizens within its borders and now an intervention is being contemplated. Japanese corporation is irradiating its citizens and citizens of the world and……?????
Statistically Insignificant
“…says it’s unlikely to be harmful.”
To whom? Mutations, death, of the tiniest of sea creatures could set off a chain reaction of events which could be devastating to sea life, and thus to all life. They have no idea of the scope of the problem, or simply aren’t saying.
renevers
This is a a map from a computer simulation.. In fact the radiation load, is so diluted, that it cannot be measured in the background radiation variations of 10 Bq/l medium, value +-3Bq, the extra radiation less than 0.01 Bq . . I doubt they can measure anything directly with Geiger-counters. Radiation as low as, this can only be traced by special isotope measurements and specific radiation monitors. The danger to human life is about NIL . The impact on fish or plant life will be NIL. This is typical fear-monger information. The whole exercise is only important for scientist, for the way isotopes diffuse in the ocean and the mixing patterns of ocean waters. Caesium is a metal like kalium’s and natrium (sodium) and is dissolved and ionised completely. One should have in mind that the natural background radiation of one cubic kilometre of ocean water is about 10 Tbq.
Some TBq from the plant in Fukoshima will not notably raise the radiation level of the ocean as there are millions of cubic kilometres of water.
renevers
O .. The human background radiation is about 130 BQ/kg so about 10 kBq per human. Fish is rejected for consumption by the Japanese food agencies that check all food at 100 Bq/kg , so at a RA level LOWER than a human is.Fish catched with excess radiation is quite rare. Only near the plant itself and in rivermouths the fish is sometimes higher in natural RA.
I calculated the average radiation of the oceans of the world raises by less than 0.1 ppm (1E-7 -/-) if all radiation would dissolve equally and homogenic.
jessie
Don’t buy into this folks. The radiation was in California three months after the accident. It is already in our fish, our fruits and vegetables and milk. People most definitely will die in California as a result. The weak. Watch thyroid symptoms. The ocean does cure itself, however it will not overcome this problem completely. Plant a lot of succulents. This information comes from experts behind the scene.
jes
Don’t buy into this folks. The radiation was in California three months after the accident. People will die, the weak. Watch for thyroid symptoms. The ocean does cure itself, but the ocean is overwhelmed now with a lot of issues. Plant a lot of succulents to absorb the radiation. This info comes from experts behind the scene.
Phil Blank
On AUG 28th 2013, news articles were still saying it wouldn’t be here for 3 more years, so who sped this up?
Wayne Waters
They don’t think it will be Harmful, OH Ya.