Your days of eating Pacific Ocean fish are soon over...

[beef78]

Originally Posted by lowprofile

i stopped at epidemic of starving, sick sea lions in california....

as a former Chem, Bio, Radiological, Nuclear defense specialist who was actually over there when it happened and got to see the reports and levels of contamination and up until the beginning of this year was fluent in everything going on with the case I can tell you its bullshit.

just remember, a 100% increase in radiation levels still does not mean it equals anything near a lethal dose. remember that when the media tries to hype up any epidemic or natural/man made disaster.

Agreed!

[Dail14]

Remember a lethal dose of radiation is somewhere around 200 rads for humans. And many things we eat are radioactive. For example bananas contain radioactive isotopes of potassium and table salt often contains radioactive iodine. Cigarettes contain relatively large amounts of radioactive materials as well. Our bodies are loaded with radioactive carbon isotopes that constantly break down. Thats what is used for carbon dating. One thing people do not consider is what makes these materials so bad for us. Its the fact that they release subatomic particles into our bodies at a large level. However this decomposition happens quickly and these deadly isotopes become far less deadly fairly fast. If what that flow chart says is true in terms of the spread, we would only be having problems if this had been going on for decades. Not months.

[beef78]

Originally Posted by Dail14

Remember a lethal dose of radiation is somewhere around 200 rads for humans. And many things we eat are radioactive. For example bananas contain radioactive isotopes of potassium and table salt often contains radioactive iodine. Cigarettes contain relatively large amounts of radioactive materials as well. Our bodies are loaded with radioactive carbon isotopes that constantly break down. Thats what is used for carbon dating. One thing people do not consider is what makes these materials so bad for us. Its the fact that they release subatomic particles into our bodies at a large level. However this decomposition happens quickly and these deadly isotopes become far less deadly fairly fast. If what that flow chart says is true in terms of the spread, we would only be having problems if this had been going on for decades. Not months.

It's actually closer to 1000 - 2000 rads for a single dose, which is impossible in the amounts released for japan. What really gets you is when you intake the contamination. Some of the contamination builds up in vital organs. It's the small amounts of radiation from the contamination in your body that, over time, increases your risk for cancer. The big thing to remember is that there is natural radiation in everything, including food. The biggest source of radiation that effects everyone every day is the sun. An airline pilot accumulates more radiation dose in a year than nuclear power plant operator.

[oneyedeer]

negative on the personal radiation dectector for current Bluefins catch

[CalicoCody]

Originally Posted by oneyedeer

negative on the personal radiation dectector for current Bluefins catch

[Cattledog]

I hope the crowd that is worried about radiation in our fish is avoiding other more important risks. They should:
- stay out of the sun
- become vegans
- stay away from motorcycles, cigarettes
- maybe stay out of the ocean, sharks and many other risks!
- avoid most prescription medications - read the warning inserts (which are based on scientific findings for the most part)

etc etc

None of us will be around forever - I wonder how naysayers that worry about stuff like this get through their days-

Chris

[Old Man in the Sea]

There is SOME truth to it unfortunately...the dirty rods on the roof that exploded is a concern and the 2 reactors that started meltdown. The fact it is a "level 3" is a concern...I do not trust Japan or Tepco to tell us the truth about how much is leaking out...I am glad we are in San Diego and not Seattle...I think local caught fish are fine...in So Cal. => no real need now for me to pay to catch and eat Bluefin...besides the the counts were so low I cancelled my last trip...I already take thyroid pills and it is not a big deal...it is one of the few medicines that works as directed...w/ minimal side effects...that part of the story is exaggerated...

[Dail14]

Originally Posted by beef78

It's actually closer to 1000 - 2000 rads for a single dose, which is impossible in the amounts released for japan.

Woops. you are right. I forgot one zero to my number.

[dos ballenas]

Don't believe everything you read! Especially when it's not published in a peer reviewed scientific journal!

You guys are classic. Nice to see you are back in the game Hobie Pedaler.

Honestly, this is old news. I have been working directly to assist in the sampling and testing of muscle tissue from hundreds of bluefin tuna over the past few years. Some of the results are very cool, but like stated by many above not a heath concern.

Google: Fukushima, pacific bluefin tuna, migration, stable isotope, radiocesium



Or if you want to get really crazy try Google Scholar:


http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en


Choose your sources wisely!


If you add Daniel Madigan to your google search you will find a few papers that discuss results from actual scientific analysis of muscle tissue from bluefin tuna sampled locally here in San Diego. I am currently working with Dan to continue sampling and analysis.

I can post links to a few recent PUBLISHED papers if there is interest. But like most scientific papers unless you do some background reading a lot of the paper will be hard to understand. That's why scientific results can be misconstrued so easily.

The internet is littered with blogs and news reports written by people who barely understand the subjects they're getting payed to write about.

Which is why it's important to think for yourself.

But the short version is below:

Fukushima Radiation in Migrating Bluefin Tuna Expected to Fall


By Stuart Biggs - May 29, 2012 1:35 AM PT



Radioactive material found in bluefin tuna that swam or fed in waters off the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan is likely to decrease over time as the material dilutes in the ocean, scientists said.
A study of 15 Pacific bluefin caught off San Diego in August last year found levels of radioactive cesium 10 times higher than in fish caught in previous years and provide “unequivocal evidence” that the radiation came from Fukushima, researchers including Daniel Madigan and Nicholas Fisher said in a study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Contamination levels, which the authors say are not a danger to public health, are likely to decline even though cesium has ‘biomagnification’ characteristics, meaning the concentration increases from prey fish to predators when cesium is consumed. That would be offset by the bluefin’s metabolism, which should excrete cesium at a rate of about 2 percent per day, Fisher wrote in an e-mail.
“Much will depend on the concentration in the prey fish, which in turn is ultimately dependent on the water concentration,” wrote Fisher, a professor at Stony Brook University in New York, in response to e-mail questions. “If concentrations in water will eventually decline, as we would expect, due to dilution and dispersion, then concentrations in living organisms will eventually decline as well.”

[dos ballenas]

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/22/1204859109

open the Full Text PDF and enjoy

[Old Man in the Sea]

Everybody got to say what they believe...it will just be political fighting going forward...

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by dos ballenas

Don't believe everything you read! Especially when it's not published in a peer reviewed scientific journal! A study of 15 Pacific bluefin caught off San Diego in August last year found levels of radioactive cesium 10 times higher than in fish caught in previous years and provide “unequivocal evidence” that the radiation came from Fukushima, researchers including Daniel Madigan and Nicholas Fisher said in a study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Contamination levels, which the authors say are not a danger to public health, are likely to decline even though cesium has ‘biomagnification’ characteristics, meaning the concentration increases from prey fish to predators when cesium is consumed. That would be offset by the bluefin’s metabolism, which should excrete cesium at a rate of about 2 percent per day

So that's why those pup sealions are dying. They are eating too many Bluefin tuna

Yeah I figured that Bluefin and even possibly Albacore could end up with some trace contaminants but it's important to note that is because during their migration they fed on bait over there and then migrated here. It's not because the radiation has drifted across the ocean and is now contaminating our waters. I don't know about you but personally I do not catch too many kayak bluefin or albacore. I wish I did

The fish kayakers catch locally are clean and as you state even the most tainted Bluefin your likely to catch offshore is still going to be safe to eat.

So speaking of biomagnification how were the mercury levels in those same Bluefin?

Thanks for the post, and clarification!!!!