According to The New York Times, Japan has released more than 11,000 tons (that's 22,000,000 pounds) of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean this week. What is "low-level?" Tokyo Electric says that the water has more than 100 times the radiation of the legal limit. But that's nothing compared to the water being pumped into the containers used to dump the water this week. Water with 1,000 times the legal limit will be filled into the containers used to dump this week's load.
While this may sound like a lot, the news article said that "[m]ixing radioactive water with uncontaminated seawater can lead to a rapid decrease in radiation levels," according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Still, the dumping has marine biologists nervous because the radioactive elements may be eaten by small fish, which in turn are eaten by larger fish, which means the problem may grow with time.
This all makes me wonder what will happen of the mighty Japanese seafood industry. Just like BP's oil spill caused economic havoc for Gulf Coast fishers, will this crisis be similar for their Japanese counterparts? --Philip Volmar
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5 comments:
Wow, I really hope that this doesn't cause any issues. I really wonder if this is one of those things that is blown out of proportion by the media just like the earthquake damage.
I agree that while the news is making the radioactive dumping not sound like a big deal, it seems to me that this will have long-term repercussions on the Japanese marine life. I wonder what will happen if humans eat fish that have eaten radioactive elements? Are there other options to dispose of this radioactive waste?
In another article I read about Korea's reaction to the dumping, it said that 58 samples were taken of different fish and none were positive for dangerous radiation. It seems like the Japanese did this behind Korea's back and the Korean's along with others are not thrilled about it.
P.s. Phil I like the picture :)
It's so hard to know if this will really have a long-term effect on the marine life. It seems that so much of the media is blown out of perspective, and hopefully this is another one of those stories, because if it does hurt the marine life that could be detrimental.
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