Radiation From Japan Disaster Found in Kelp Along California Coast

Radiation From Japan Disaster Found in Kelp Along California Coast

abcnews.go.com

Kelp along the California  coast was found to be contaminated with radioactive material from a nuclear plant damaged in the March 201 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, according to a recent study.

The levels were also about the same as those measured in British Columbia and Washington state after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, it's now beyond doubt that radiation from Japan has made its way to the US coast and into our seafood food chain.

I've been posting about Fukushima and other lesser known nuclear disasters in Japan for a few months now, but this just made my worries true.

Oh well. I'm sure they will tell us it's below the harmful levels, the seals were just dying of old age, blah, blah.

Anyways, I'm out of town on a mobile and search is not my friend on my phone. Apologies if already posted.



abcnews.go.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by YouAreLiedTo

Oh well. I'm sure they will tell us it's below the harmful levels, the seals were just dying of old age, blah, blah.

They allready did that in the article, twice

abcnews.go.com...

Researchers at California State University, Long Beach found that the kelp contained radioactive iodine, cesium, xenon and other particles at levels unlikely to be detrimental to human health but much higher than the amounts measured before the disaster.

Medical experts, however, said the disaster's impact on U.S. public health was likely insignificant. Exposures of large numbers of people in past nuclear accidents, such as Chernobyl, have indicated that any radiation that reached the West Coast wouldn't have much of an effect.

study fulltext paywalled/subscription, but it's free at University of Southern California - www.usc.edu/org/seagrant/Publications/PDFs/Manley_Lowe_radiationdosimeterkelp.pdf

Canopy-Forming Kelps as California’s Coastal Dosimeter: 131I from Damaged Japanese Reactor Measured in Macrocystis pyrifera

Steven L. Manley*† and Christopher G. Lowe†
† Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, California 90840 United States
Environ. Sci. Technol., 2012, 46 (7), pp 3731–3736
DOI: 10.1021/es203598r

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es203598r

Abstract

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, damaged by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 released large amounts of 131I into the atmosphere, which was assimilated into canopy blades of Macrocystis pyrifera sampled from coastal California. The specific activity calculated to the estimated date of deposition/assimilation ranged from 0.6 to 2.5 Bq gdwt–1, levels greater than those measured from kelps from Japan and Canada prior to the release. These 131I levels represent a significant input into the kelp forest ecosystem. Canopy-forming kelps are a natural coastal dosimeter that can measure the exposure of the coastal environment to 131I and perhaps other radioisotopes released from nuclear accidents. An organizational mechanism should be in place to ensure that they are sampled immediately and continuously after such releases.

California State University, Long Beach

Press Release
April 4, 2012
Cal State Long Beach Faculty Measure Radioactive Fallout in
California Kelp Beds from Damaged Japanese Nuclear Reactor

urd.csulb.edu/press-release/story.cfm?hackid=1307

reply to post by Mianeye
The claim that there are "safe levels" of radiation is bull#. Radiation is unsafe at any level. Any exposure to radiation increases your risk of some kind of medical consequences. Namely, cancer. There is no so-called safe level of radiation.

reply to post by Mianeye


Sorry, some pages don't fully load on my phone.

That has been their generic response to radiation levels for the past year. No surprise that they are sticking with it... people seem to believe it anyways.

I just happen to be one of the people that thinks ANY amount of man-made radiation is too high. (Had to add man-made because I can already see the people pointing out solar radiation )

Damn, I was in the mood for some shrimp tonight too...

Edit: atz beat me too it by seconds >

reply to post by Atzil321

That isn't the point in this case, and i am well aware of that thank you.

The point was his mention that i quoted was in the article in two different places, so i wondered if he had read the article before posting.
He allready explained the reason for that above this thread.

Also the people on ATS tend to fearmonger a lot when they are not told the full story, and what they say in the article about the readings and the exposure to human health could be true(I don't know about the numbers of the readings at this moment), but people with no knowledge of radiation danger will allways think otherwise.

Originally posted by Atzil321
reply to post by Mianeye

 

The claim that there are "safe levels" of radiation is bull#. Radiation is unsafe at any level. Any exposure to radiation increases your risk of some kind of medical consequences. Namely, cancer. There is no so-called safe level of radiation.

edit on 12-4-2012 by Atzil321 because: (no reason given)

There is no so-called safe level of radiation.

I supposed everyone just dies when they go out in sunlight then do they?

reply to post by YouAreLiedTo

I just happen to be one of the people that thinks ANY amount of man-made radiation is too high. (Had to add man-made because I can already see the people pointing out solar radiation )

Any radiation that is "man made" can be found somewhere in this universe "natural made", correct me if I'm wrong?

(Edit: There have been a couple circumstances where super-colliders have produced elements that are not known to exist naturally, I suppose this would be the case where something was truly man made, although just because we haven't found it doesn't mean it doesn't exist somewhere.)

Originally posted by Mianeye
reply to post by Atzil321

 

Also the people on ATS tend to fearmonger a lot when they are not told the full story, and what they say in the article about the readings and the exposure to human health could be true(I don't know about the numbers of the readings at this moment), but people with no knowledge of radiation danger will allways think otherwise.

edit on 12-4-2012 by Mianeye because: (no reason given)

edit on 12-4-2012 by Mianeye because: (no reason given)

And you believe everything you are told by them?

Didn't they tell us for half a century that dental x-rays were safe, only to now say it is proven to cause brain cancer?

The doctors stand behind lead and concrete for a reason... and yet they still want to xray every person with a tooth ache, sprained ankle, etc.

Just because someone tells me that *this* radiation happens to pose no threat, doesn't mean I'm going to believe it.

No fear-mongering intended.

Originally posted by boncho

Originally posted by Atzil321
reply to post by Mianeye

 

The claim that there are "safe levels" of radiation is bull#. Radiation is unsafe at any level. Any exposure to radiation increases your risk of some kind of medical consequences. Namely, cancer. There is no so-called safe level of radiation.

edit on 12-4-2012 by Atzil321 because: (no reason given)

There is no so-called safe level of radiation.

I supposed everyone just dies when they go out in sunlight then do they?

It didn't take long for someone to not read and post it.

Actually was faster than I expected.

Don't be a smart-ass and that wouldn't happen.

Edit: Google man-made radiation. I'm on a phone and can't do the research for you this morning, sorry.

reply to post by YouAreLiedTo

It's kind of funny you mention that, because everytime i have been xrayed being tooth or bones, i have asked them what the risk is, they allways said "there is no risk", and i NEVER believed them, did they lie to me? no they did not, they just didn't know about those risk, now you are told about the risk before they xray you, they don't hide it.

So no i don't believe anything i am told, far from actually, but i do know my facts and judge from there.

My mom died from cancer, my father is dying from cancer, my sister have cancer, and i propably will die from cancer to, not to mention my freinds and cancer.
It's every freaking where, and is propably caused by pollution of air, water or food, what is causing al this cancer, nobody really know, but there is no need to fearmonger about it, because it's no secret that anything manmade could be the cause, including radioactivity of different kinds and amounts.

Don't take me for an idiot just because i trust some people and there mention, i'm just not paranoid like most people are today because they don't know who to believe, and i allways try to understand what i am told, and read up about it, untill my inteligens barrier is kicking in, and it's pretty high i can say without bragging.

reply to post by YouAreLiedTo

Don't be a smart-ass and that wouldn't happen.

Well no, I think you are being a smart ass. And so are all the people that say some radiation is okay and some is not okay no matter the amount exposed to simply because one was produced my man (ignoring all other facts related).

Because there is plenty of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) that are not safe at certain levels, and there are plenty of "man made" radioactive materials that are beneficial to people used in certain circumstances.

I will concede that dumping radioactive material into water reserves is no where near ideal though...

During mining and milling of zircon, care must be taken to keep dust levels down. Then when zircon is fused in refractories or ceramics manufacture, silica dust and fumes must be collected. This may contain the more volatile radionuclides, Pb-210 and Po-210, and the collection of these gases means that pipeworks and filters become contaminated.

The main radiological issue is occupational exposure to these radionuclides in airborne dusts in the processing plant. Waste produced during zirconia/zirconium production can be high in Ra-226, which presents a gamma hazard, and waste must be stored in metal containers in special repositories. Powders from filters used during zirconia manufacture have been assayed as high as 200,000Bq/kg of Pb-210 and 600,000 Bq/kg Po-210.

Read more about NORMs here.

There is nothing wrong with pointing out that some radiation is worse than others. Or that some radiation should be protected against and some can be quietly ignored. But it's another thing all together to dismiss "natural" radiation and say that anything "manmade" is going to kill you or be bad for you at any dose.

It's just simply not the case.

reply to post by boncho


And now you are inferring that I said all natural radiations were safe, which I most certainly did not.

We can play this game all morning, but being on a phone I don't feel like feeding your diatribe.

Originally posted by Mianeye
reply to post by YouAreLiedTo

 

It's kind of funny you mention that, because everytime i have been xrayed being tooth or bones, i have asked them what the risk is, they allways said "there is no risk", and i NEVER believed them.

So no i don't believe anything i am told, far from actually, but i do no my facts and judge from there.

My mom died from cancer, my father is dying from cancer, my sister have cancer, and i propably will die from cancer to, not to mention my freinds and cancer.
It's every freaking where, and is propably caused by pollution of air, water or food, what is causing al this cancer, nobody really know, but there is no need to fearmonger about it, because it's no secret that anything manmade could be the cause, including radioactivity of different kinds and amounts.

Don't take me for an idiot just because i trust some people and there mention, i'm just not paranoid like most people are today because they don't know who to believe, and i allways try to understand what i am told, and read up about it, untill my inteligens barrier is kicking in, and it's pretty high i can say without bragging.

This is a complete lack in logic. On the one hand you say you "know", which is a huge statement, for the most advanced scientists don't truly use that word alot. You really do not know. You trust it will not affect us.

But everyone in your family is affected by cancer, which is a very high stastistic, and say that many are going to be affected by all the manmade toxins and radiation.

One cancels the other out.

Now Fukushima is not only manmade radiation, but it was done deliberately, as all the 9/11 earthquakes and diasters are, including yesterdays. That was 9/11 yet again. They do not add 11's or 22's those are master numbers. But you add the rest. They put it out in movies first.

If you family has cancer, if they 're doing traditional chemo, encourage they take things to boost their immune systems, such as 10000 iu's or more of D, high grade C powder, and ensure it is all organic and non radiated health food products, the ones I get are labeled and very good.

P'audarco tea, that is a inexpensive bark and you sip on it most of the day.

And there is no harm in trying the baking soda, maple syrup or blackstrap molasses (organic) protocol.

All of this needs to be researched in advance of course. Especially the last one.

Not to mention there are countless threads on here that list alot of others.

Some things that are illegal as well, have destroyed 65% of the tumors and were on the US Gov Cancer Agency sight, despite their making it illegal. Which is an enormous crime against humanity!

Originally posted by YouAreLiedTo
reply to post by boncho

 

And now you are inferring that I said all natural radiations were safe, which I most certainly did not.

We can play this game all morning, but being on a phone I don't feel like feeding your diatribe.

Woah, slow down, hold on, not so.

I am saying you are labelling all man-made radiation unsafe simply because they are man-made.

Posted by YOU

I just happen to be one of the people that thinks ANY amount of man-made radiation is too high.

But, you did not say that all natural radiation is unsafe (which you did say about the other), which I assume is because it is "natural" and you give no other explanation on it. Therefore saying one is unsafe simply because it is produced in a human process.

No other reason than that.

-Not acceptable.



What you could have said, is many natural occurring radioactive materials are safer than man-made because they have decayed into more stable isotopes over billions of years, etc, something along that line.

..but that is not a be-all-end-all fit either. Absolutes shouldn't be used, and the one you used was not proven with your opinion.(*) . (*)

Naturally occurring radionuclides fall into three categories: primordial radionuclides, secondary radionuclides, and cosmogenic radionuclides. Primordial radionuclides, such as uranium and thorium, originate mainly from the interiors of stars and are still present as their half-lives are so long they have not yet completely decayed. Secondary radionuclides are radiogenic isotopes derived from the decay of primordial radionuclides. They have shorter half-lives than primordial radionuclides. Cosmogenic isotopes, such as carbon-14, are present because they are continually being formed in the atmosphere due to cosmic rays.[1]

*

reply to post by Unity_99


The "know" thing, i think you missunderstood something there.

You say i lack in logic

Now Fukushima is not only manmade radiation, but it was done deliberately, as all the 9/11 earthquakes and diasters are, including yesterdays.

Yeah, right. Come again

My family has refused chemo and are going through other means, so that is allready done.

The illigal thing, well, we can't disscus that, so i'll leave it, but i do not agree.
I don't live in the US.

Originally posted by YouAreLiedTo
reply to post by Mianeye

 

Sorry, some pages don't fully load on my phone.

That has been their generic response to radiation levels for the past year. No surprise that they are sticking with it... people seem to believe it anyways.

I just happen to be one of the people that thinks ANY amount of man-made radiation is too high. (Had to add man-made because I can already see the people pointing out solar radiation

)

Damn, I was in the mood for some shrimp tonight too...

Edit: atz beat me too it by seconds >

It remains to be seen that the high levels of radiation in California Kelp is because of the Fukushimi-Daiichi nuclear accident? Lets all remember the accident is ongoing. I think it would be difficult to gather data and form a conclusion in a vacuum? I am not going to bang pots and pans and howl at the moon just yet over this report about the Kelp in California. Although, I will say that this apparent abnormality is duly noted.

Man made radiation was here long before Fukushima. We have above ground, atmospheric, below ground, and sea testing of nuclear weapons for over half a century by the US and Russia as well as other developed countries. That is a hell of a lot of radiation to be dispersed into the environment. Then, lets talk about removal and storage of radioactive waste. I am fairly certain there have been leaks that have gone unreported since the dawn of the nuclear age. Harmful radiation is everywhere and has been for quite a few years. Fukushima is only adding to it. Still, we are clutching at straws until the disaster is under control and everyone can compare notes in an in-depth study. Just my two cents.

So.... Sick, dead, and dying polar bears, seals , dolphins etc..
?