Radioactive Fish at Fukushima Could Wipeout Fishing Industry for a Decade
The meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant nearly two years ago after the massive earthquake that led to a tsunami is believed to be the cause of a fish found near the plant recently that tested for more than 2,500 times the legal limit for radiation.
According to the Huffington Post, the fish—a “murosoi”, which is similar to a rockfish—was caught last week in the area nearby to Fukushima. The caesium levels of the fish were equal to 254,000 becquerels per kilogram, roughly 2,540 times more than the radiation levels the government allows in seafood. The finding has elevated fears in the area that the radiation leak’s effects are far from over.
Since the nuclear reactor meltdown, fishing has stopped in Fukushima. And vegetables, mushrooms, beef and dairy products were also banned from being produced out of concerns over contamination. The Huffington Post reports that efforts have been under way to determine the widespread effect of the radiation in the area for the last year. “Researchers from the U.S.-based Woods Hole Institution, led by marine chemist Ken Buesseler, announced that they had found “elevated levels” of radiation in the marine environment around Fukushima.”
In October of 2012 the same crew led by Buesseler discovered that 40 percent of the fish caught near the plant to be contaminated with high levels of radioactive caesium “above government safety limits.” The discovery led Buesseler to suggest that fish near Fukushima may be inedible for at least a decade.
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Image: adobe of chaos
