Scientific Conference: Fukushima a global threat to human health — Radioactivity in food web off Pacific Northwest to “significantly increase” after one year — Salmon forecast to exceed Japan radiation limit — “Major concern for public health of coastal communities” (POSTER)
ENENews.com
December 31st, 2014
Conference Paper for Society for Environmental Toxciology & Chemistry (SETAC), Dr. Juan Jose Alava & Dr. Frank Gobas, Simon Fraser Univ., published Dec 1, 2014 (emphasis added):
A Marine Food Web Bioaccumulation model for Cesium 137 in the Pacific Northwest — The Fukushima nuclear accident on 11 March 2011 emerged as a global threat to the conservation of the Pacific Ocean, human health, and marine biodiversity… This accident was defined by the [IAEA] as “a major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures”. Despite the looming threat of radiation, there has been scant attention and inadequate radiation monitoring. This is unfortunate, as the potential radioactive contamination of seafoods through bioaccumulation of radioisotopes (i.e. 137Cs) in marine and coastal food webs are issues of major concern for the public health of coastal communities… [R]eleases of 137Cs into the Pacific after the Fukushima nuclear accident are… prone to concentrate in marine food-webs… [A] simulation time dependent bioaccumulation model… showed that 137Cs can be expected to bioaccumulate gradually over time in the food web… Bioaccumulation of 137Cs was characterized by slow uptake and elimination rates in upper trophic level organisms and dominance of dietary consumption in the uptake of 137CS. This modeling work showed… magnification of this radionuclide takes place in the marine food web over time.
Reviewer Comments (Dr. Nikolaus Gantner, Univ. of N. British Columbia): “Excellent abstract and an important contribution to the session in terms of modeling efforts and bioaccumulation. Provides long-term perspective on the issue.”
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