Home Tournaments Calendar Weather Merchandise Sponsors

Go Back   Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum > United States Geographical Locations > Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest Tell us about hunting in the PNW here!

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 09-19-2014, 01:51 PM   #1
steepNdeep
Wet spears
 
steepNdeep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Out there
Posts: 1,083
Exclamation Glowing fish???

Sadly, lincod may become much more valuable in my freezer...



Sockeye Salmon Sushi: Use a Geiger Counter

Does elevated, uncontrolled radiation gush--as from an artery--out of Japan's maimed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and into the Pacific Ocean?

The world needs to know, because as vast as is the ocean, high levels of radiation emission into open water can have latent, crippling consequences. As an example, spawning sockeye salmon journey via the North Pacific Current from the top of Japan to Northern California, British Columbia and Alaska. This same current carries whatever Fukushima is in the process of vomiting forth, bathing salmon and herring all along the way in radioactive cesium. Hotspots of cesium-137, as high as 40,000 becquerels per kilogram, are detected in seabed depressions1.6 km off the coast. Japan has set 500 becquerels per kilogram in food as the maximum allowed.

People may ingest cesium-137 with food and water, or may inhale it as dust. If cesium-137 enters the body, it is distributed fairly uniformly throughout the body's soft tissues, resulting in exposure of those tissues. Slightly higher concentrations of the metal are found in muscle, while slightly lower concentrations are found in bone and fat. Compared to some other radionuclides, cesium-137 remains in the body for a relatively short time. It is eliminated through the urine. Like all radionuclides, exposure to radiation from cesium-137 results in increased risk of cancer. (Environmental Protection Agency)



On March 11, 2011, the power plant was hit by a 30' wave tsunami and a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, setting off a series of crises at the nuclear facility. This was the fifth largest quake in recorded history. Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, through no fault of it's own, did not stand a chance. The plant trembled, fell, and melted down.

Flood waters overpowered the diesel generators that pumped to cool the plant's reactors. The reactors weren't cooled and they got hot, resulting in fuel rod melt and hydrogen explosion. Fire.

Helicopters flew in valiantly, exposing pilots. Water was dumped. Corrosive sea water, in a pitiable desperate effort, was pumped in to cool the reactors. Exposed spent fuel rods. Extremely high emissions of lethal radiation.

On March 19, 2011, Japan's government released the following: 7,348 people confirmed dead; 10,947 missing; 2,603 injured.

Today is September 6, 2013, and confused fear surrounds the situation at the power plant. Nobody knows for certain what is happening. Reports are conflicted. Views polarized. Recently, a flurry of breathless facts have raised concern, but are they, in fact, facts?


As a professional society, we understand that if people act on misinformation, the crisis not only will be exacerbated but also may lead to tragic personal outcomes. A grim legacy of the Chernobyl accident is the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 elective abortions driven by unwarranted hysteria and fear that consumed Europe and states of the former Soviet Union in the months following the accident. The secrecy that surrounded the accident, the response by the Russian and the Ukrainian governments, and the uncoordinated international monitoring response all fueled that fear and gave rise to much of the misinformation that surrounds the accident even today. In the first few days of the Fukushima Daiichi accident, nuclear engineers and scientists feared that many of the mistakes of Chernobyl were about to be repeated. (2012: FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI: ANS Committee Report, 31)



"We don't know what exactly the situation is, how much has leaked, how radioactive it was, or where it was going," Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of Japan's nuclear watchdog said August 28, 2013.

Some experts now feel that the fuel rods at Japan's nuclear power plant have moved into earth and are in contact with ground water, flowing directly into the Pacific Ocean. We need to test the fish. Nobody, no entity, no country tests the salmon for radiation exposure: red flag. In 2012, 100% of bluefin tuna tested in California showed positive for cesium directly associated with Fukushima. A scientist at Stony Brook University said, "I was stunned."

Professor and Canada Research Chair in Preventive Medicine and Population Health at University of British Columbia, and the former President of Physicians for Social Responsibility Dr. Erica Frank: "The bit that needs fixing here is our inevitably deadly reliance on nuclear power. Yummy tuna and salmon today, and most export products from Japan -- and what happens when the same thing happens at Hanford, and any other nuclear power station?"

Dr. Erica Frank: "In particular, this is the piece that indicates to me that they have found levels detectable-but-difficult-to-explain-without-undue-alarm:"


To date, all results that have been produced show that no radionuclides are present above actionable levels. This means that we have not found any evidence of radioactivity in any food products at levels of concern. Once the Agency has conducted its rigorous quality control it will publish all test results on its website. (Canadian Food Inspection Agency communication provided by Dr. Frank)




The sockeye runs way up north in the Skeena are low. The [fish] out of Bristol Bay, Alaska is down 30 to 35 per cent over last year. Russia has got a limited number of fish in the market. They are down about 40 per cent over all their salmon fisheries. (Vancouver News 1130, August 15, 2013)


Salmon fisheries expert and marine biologist Alexandra Morton: "Can you recommend a Geiger counter?"

"To use on caught fish by laymen without waiting for governmental testing, right?" I ask.

Alexandra Morton: "Yes."

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3880327
steepNdeep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2014, 12:48 AM   #2
No I'm Josh
Sculpin Slayer
 
No I'm Josh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portland, Oregon
Age: 53
Posts: 1,022
Re: Glowing fish???

Thanks Dean for that.
I've been following all this as closely as possible. The article really doesn't say black on white that our fish is contaminated. I recently discovered kayak fishing for salmon and have 8 on my tag so my freezer is basically bursting. I just ordered a $100 geiger counter online. I'll check back in when I have some intel regarding the radiation levels of the coho salmon in the ice box.
__________________
www.kamokapearls.com and www.joshhumbert.comTahitian pearls and photography.
No I'm Josh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2014, 11:30 AM   #3
steepNdeep
Wet spears
 
steepNdeep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Out there
Posts: 1,083
Re: Glowing fish???

Cool Josh! Im interested in the results. I spear & flyfish for trout from my yak in the Columbia, but have never tried for salmon. Coho are my favourite salmon & I'd love to catch 'em in a yak. Any pics? I luckily have a coho pool 5 min. from the house & will hit it often in Oct...

Here is some Fukushima'd up shite (worth the watch): Fukushima An In Depth Documentary By VICE - YouTube

Last edited by steepNdeep; 09-20-2014 at 11:44 AM.
steepNdeep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 01:05 PM   #4
steepNdeep
Wet spears
 
steepNdeep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Out there
Posts: 1,083
Re: Glowing fish???

I like to be educated on the risks... I found a more recent study on the effects of Fukushima on fish consumed by humans, via a fellow spearfisher & it appears to be good news.

According to the study, the waters r definitely Fukushima'd up:The highest level of contamination reported for a Fukushima-contaminated fish (740,000Bq·kg):
1) exists for a greenling caught in February 2013 near the water intakes for the No.1 and No.4 reactors inside the port of the FukushimaNo.1 power plant (25). The contamination level of this fish exceeded the Japanese market exclusion limit for Cs of 100 Bq·kg−1 by a factor of 7,400 times.


But with the dilution of the Pacific ocean, it doesnt appear to affect PBFT - Pacific bluefin tuna:
The additional dose from Fukushima radionuclides to humans consuming tainted PBFT in the United States was calculated to be 0.9 and 4.7 µSv for average consumers and subsistence fishermen, respectively. Such doses are comparable to, or less than, the dose all humans routinely obtain from naturally occurring radionuclides in many food items, medical treatments, air travel, or other background sources. Although uncertainties remain regarding the assessment of cancer risk at low doses of ionizing radiation to humans, the dose received from PBFT consumption by subsistence fishermen can be estimated to result in two additional fatal cancer cases per 10,000,000 similarly exposed people.

This looks good, however, our salmon eat a diet high in shrimp, which are bottom garbage feeders & could be more susceptible... Does anyone know of any other studies involving salmon?

Here is the study: http://www.pnas.org/content/110/26/10670.short
steepNdeep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2014, 01:50 AM   #5
AlexanderTheRad
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 47
Re: Glowing fish???

The amount of radiation in the fish is insignificant. The pacific ocean is rather large, diluting it down to nothing. There are objects around your home that contain more radiation.
AlexanderTheRad is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2014, 12:49 AM   #6
No I'm Josh
Sculpin Slayer
 
No I'm Josh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portland, Oregon
Age: 53
Posts: 1,022
Re: Glowing fish???

Dean that has been my working understanding of it. Detectable but not even close to hazardous to humans. I tend to not trust any authority though regardless of what political fence they lean on. The geiger counter cost $100 which I think is a pretty good deal for my peace of mind. As for kayak salmon pics, friend me up on Instagram or FB. Josh Humbert in both places!
__________________
www.kamokapearls.com and www.joshhumbert.comTahitian pearls and photography.
No I'm Josh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2014, 01:24 PM   #7
mbarrus
Michael
 
mbarrus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 78
Re: Glowing fish???

Two easy to read and digest posts on Fukashima specifically and radiation more generally.

http://deepseanews.com/2013/11/true-...hima-disaster/

https://xkcd.com/radiation/
mbarrus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2014, 03:00 PM   #8
Marcus
Naval gazer extraordinair
 
Marcus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 42,214
Re: Glowing fish???

I've been checking my diet. I won't eat any tuna from the Pacific nor any rice from Japan given the knowledge I've gained thus far.
__________________
“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”
― Frederic Bastiat, The Law
Marcus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2014, 08:46 PM   #9
No I'm Josh
Sculpin Slayer
 
No I'm Josh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portland, Oregon
Age: 53
Posts: 1,022
Re: Glowing fish???

Great links, thanks very much Michael.
__________________
www.kamokapearls.com and www.joshhumbert.comTahitian pearls and photography.
No I'm Josh is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
cancer, fukushima, nuclear, radiation, salmon

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:48 AM.


The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Social Media Forum Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2002 - 2014 Spearboard.com