Japanese tuna trace radioactive path Traces of Fukushima
Radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear accident is
being transported across the Pacific Ocean by migratory fish,
according to a new report. Following the failure of coolant
pumps at the Japanese nuclear reactor in March 2011, radioactive
caesium (Cs) was released into the ocean in amounts that
exceeded any previous accident, leading to considerable
international concern about their spread. Nuclear accidents are
relatively infrequent, but have potentially wide-ranging effects
on both human and ecosystem health. Dr Daniel Madigan from
Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station says these effects
are poorly understood, and that Fukushima presents an
opportunity to better understand the dynamics and risks of
radionuclide discharge into the ocean. Migratory fish have long
been thought likely ecological carriers of radioactive material
around the oceans. Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis),
also known as bluefin tuna, spawn in the western Pac