The Pacific Ocean, Tainted by Fukushima’s Radioactive Waste
A report released believes heavy government funding is the reason a scientist may be producing biased reports. Ken Buesseler, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, was one of the first scientists to begin monitoring the radiation from the Fukushima meltdown.
The report pointed out that Buesseler’s study added 110 new cesium samples, at an 11 Becquerels per cubic meter of sea water, these samples were 50% higher in radioactivity than previous samples, the ongoing study.
Cesium-134 (also known at the fingerprint of Fukushima) with a half-life of 2 years, decays quickly and is most likely to be from the Fukushima toxic spill. Although the Fukushima spill released large quantities of Cesium-137, due to its half-life of 30 years there are inaccuracies of its origin. For example, Cesium-137, currently present in the ocean, dates back to 1950’s from nuclear testing.
The report critiqued Buesseler’s presentation, at the American Geophysical Union conference in 2015, saying that he “emphasized” that his samples were 500 times lower than the US government’s safety limits for drinking water and that the safety limit is well below any concern for direct contact such as swimming, boating and other water activities.
The report critiqued Buesseler’s behavior saying that he didn’t “directly challeng[e] the U.S. government’s “safe” radiation limits,” but Buesseler “obliquely” stated that any radiation in the ocean is cause for concern.
Buesseler’s continued testing near the nuclear plant (as close as a half-mile) has shown high levels of Cesium -134 that has indicated an on-going leak from the site.
The report says that despite this leak and high levels of radioactivity Buesseler is still spinning the results. “Levels today off Japan are thousands of times lower than during the peak releases in 2011. That said, finding values that are still elevated off Fukushima confirms that there is continued release from the plant,” said Buesseler.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has received $8 million in funding.
Visit this site for more information on the report.
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