Many of us who regularly consume wild seafood harvested in the North Pacific including the Gulf of Alaska and Southeast Alaska may be wondering if our seafood is safe and unaffected by radiation contamination from Japan's nuclear power plant disaster. The FDA, EPA and NOAA claim that is safe to eat U.S. harvested North Pacific seafood. According to their joint statement, "To date, no significantly elevated radiation levels have been detected in migratory species, including North Pacific Albacore." To be more specific however "sampling of U.S. seafood is not currently planned." The statement goes on to name the three radioactive elements contaminating the ocean off the coast of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant; they are iodine-131, cesium-137, and strontium-90. These contaminants will disperse into the ocean similarly to the debris left behind in the wake of the tsunami and likewise may follow the same paths, ocean currents and eddies that have permitted the debris to collect in the North Pacific Gyre, coasts of California and Washington and even outside waters of Southeast Alaska. FDA, EPA and NOAA's complete statement is available at http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/@fdagov-foods-gen/documents/document/ucm253896.pdf
What can we do to protect ourselves? Increasing your consumption of pesticide free fruits and vegetables is always an excellent idea. Then, eat wild fish from regions less likely to be dangerously impacted by the disaster that has contaminated so many of Japan's fishery resources, most of which are closed to commercial fishing anyway. All of which should not be eaten until we learn the long term impacts on the mortality rate of Japan's ocean birds, because the ocean birds of the North Pacific and I have something in
common. We both eat wild fish from the North Pacific and we both want a
healthful food supply. This link shows reported sitings of tsunami debris; some areas are significantly less directly impacted. http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/tsunamidebris/debris_sightings.html
It is reasonable to be concerned about contamination of highly migratory North Pacific Tuna and Salmon. There is no way to rule out the possibility of radioactive iodine and cesium going everywhere and getting into anything - even milk produced in Maine. However, strontium-90 acts like calcium and collects in the bones of contaminated species so its wise to avoid eating the bones of fish living or harvested in water contaminated with strontium-90. It is more likely according to Ken Buesseler, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, "With distance and time, radionuclide concentrations become much lower in the ocean, something that our measurements confirm". Nonetheless, in contrast to the trace amounts of radioactive contamination that do not alarm our agencies charged with identifying risks resulting from such, the EPA's fact about Iodine -131 reveals "[small] exposure may tip the balance in favor of cancer formation". Larger amounts have actually been used to kill cancerous thyroid tumors. Furthermore, "Raising the concentration of stable iodine in the blood, increases the likelihood that the thyroid will absorb it instead of radioactive iodine. (Note: Large doses of stable iodine can be a health hazard and should not be taken except in an emergency. However iodized table salt is an important means of acquiring essential non-radioactive iodine to maintain health." [EPA website - http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/radionuclides/iodine.html#affecthealth]
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