![]() ![]() The wastewater has mixed with rainwater and groundwater since the tsunami. The high level of cesium-which, depending on the level of exposure, canĬause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding, coma, and death in people who eat contaminated food-was discovered as TEPCO prepares to begin the discharge of treated wastewater which has been used to cool fuel from the melted reactors. ![]() Rainwater from the areas surrounding the reactors flows into the area where the fish was caught. The fish was caught near drainage outlets at the plant, where three nuclear reactors melted down in March 2011 during a tsunami. The plant operator, known as TEPCO, analyzed a black rockfish in May that was found to contain levels of radioactive cesium that were 180 times over Japan's regulatory limit, Through the newly established Center for Marine and Environmental Radioactivity (CMER), Buesseler continues to promote public education, training in marine radiochemistry, and research and engineering related to Fukushima and other natural and human sources of radioactivity.With the Tokyo Electric Power Company planning to begin a release of 1.3 million tonnes of treated wastewater from the former Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan next month, reports of radioactive fish in the area have raised alarm in recent years-and new reporting on Sunday revealed that the problem is far from mitigated, prompting questions about how dangerous the company's plan will be for the public. To this date, important fisheries off Fukushima remain closed due to levels of cesium that are above Japanese limits for seafood. They also measured cesium and other radionuclides in plankton and fish and, in subsequent cruises, collected sediments from the seafloor near the plant. The levels of cesium had diminished quickly off shore because cesium is soluble in seawater and was therefore diluted by the Pacific ocean currents. The scientists found elevated levels of the nuclear by-product cesium but they were below the threshold of concern for direct human exposure. Within months of the accident, Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), assembled a research cruise and science party of 17 people from eight institutions to sample the waters surrounding the nuclear plant. ![]() Additional airborne radioactive material from the explosions and fires at the plant fell onto the sea surface, where it too mixed into the water, as did subsequent leaks from tanks on the site holding treated water. Because of the plant’s location along the coast, much of the water washed into the Pacific, resulting in the largest accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history. The waves, some of which measured more than 40 feet, also struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant 150 miles north of Tokyo, disabling the plant’s emergency systems and causing emergency crews to use seawater to cool the damaged reactors. The disaster left dozens of villages along nearly 200 miles of coast heavily damaged or completely destroyed. On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 80 miles off the Northeast Coast of Japan triggered a series of tsunamis that struck nearby shorelines with only a few minutes’ warning. Scientists continue to study the effects of radioactive contaminants on the marine environment following the earthquake, tsunamis, and resulting radiation leads from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Other Expeditions Highlighting WHOI Research.Expedition to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.How do polynyas help feed emperor penguins?.Why is pressure different in the ocean?.What’s the difference between climate and weather?. ![]()
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