HK researchers find new way to monitor sea radiation
Hong Kong researchers say they have adapted "artificial mussels" – small gel-filled plastic containers used to monitor heavy metal concentrations – so they can also be used to monitor radioactivity levels in the sea.  Experiments conducted by the researchers showed that the devices are capable of measuring the concentration of three radioactive substances, uranium, strontium and caesium, in seawater, after seven to eight weeks. Professor Rudolf Wu, from Education University's department of science and environmental studies, said using the mussels to track radioactivity is less time-consuming and costly than previous methods. "What you can do is deploy a large number of these artificial mussels over the place, so in the laboratory you can cut down the process of pre-treatment and do the analysis straight away," he added. The study also involved City University and the University of Hong Kong.  Speaking about a Japanese government plan to discharge wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, Wu said this may be a dangerous move. "Even if you discharge a very low concentration of radionuclides into the environment, the phytoplankton can take it up for more than a hundred times. When (the radionuclides) reach the fish (through the food chain), the concentration will increase by many times," he said. Wu added that the researchers wish to share their discovery with governments worldwide to help protect the environment.