Fukushima's effects on West Coast from ENENews

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Newspaper: Increasing worry on West Coast over Fukushima radiation; “Really concerned” about affect on wildlife and most importantly our health; ‘Big black hole’ where data should be — Professor: “We do not know full extent… we’re just watching the West Coast unfold” — Official: Important we sample for plume — Fish oil being tested

Published: June 26th, 2014 at 4:14 pm ET By ENENews  Email Article 112 comments

TRIUMF (Canada National Laboratory), June 3, 2014: Radiation Experts Meet in Vancouver [...] Several talks focused on the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear plant partial meltdown in 2011. Robin Brown, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, spoke about the importance of the sampling the department is conducting off the coast of Vancouver Island to monitor the transport of radioactive contaminants via ocean currents from Fukushima.
William Reed Business Media, June 26, 2014: The International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) Program [...] is now testing fish oil samples for radiation, with Wiley’s Finest as the first adopter. [...] William Rowe, founder of the IFOS Program [said] “Consumers and retailers have shown an increased awareness and requirement for informed choice since the Fukushima tragedy” [...] According to NDI, there has been a substantial increase in consumer inquiries in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster [...] Sam Wiley, CEO of Wiley’s Finest, told us that the company’s store level interactions with supplement managers, supplement staff, and consumers in the natural channel have consistently communicated that radiation contamination in fish oil is a significant concern with consumers.
Adam Ismail, Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s: “Consumers are asking about this and we expect them to continue asking as long as the Fukushima plant continues to be an issue.”
Sam Wiley, CEO of Wiley’s Finest: “It does appear to be at least a contributing factor to some of the downturn we have seen in omega-3s. A few months ago we thought it was a concern isolated mostly to the west coast, but we are consistently getting feedback from other regions.”

Prof. Dale Dewar, University of Saskatchewan‘s department of family medicine, June 25, 2014: “We really do not know the extent of the ionizing radiation that’s going to be reaching us [from Fukushima]; we are just watching the West Coast unfold. One of the really frightening things about ionizing radiation is that [effects such as] even most rapidly growing cancers, like leukemia and thyroid cancers, are not visible in an exposed population until several years after. Part of the reason we do not know the full extent is that nobody is officially monitoring it, and that’s a very scary thought. [...] We always say that levels are negligible or permissible, because it’s likely not going to harm us immediately and exposure is not going to show up in measurable statistical levels right away. But there is no safe level of radiation.”
Statesman Journal, June 25, 2014: Talk in the Oregon coast town of Bandon often turns to the approaching plume of sea-borne radiation from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. […] Massive amounts of contaminated water were released to the sea and continue to build up at the plant. […] [Oregon officials are] not looking for cesium-134, the “fingerprint” of radiation from Fukushima.
Zac Adams, owner of Bandon Designs construction company: “We’ve been worried about it and worried about it. We’re really concerned about it affecting the fisheries, the wildlife, the tourism, and most importantly our health. […] There’s a big black hole where information should be.”
Lisa Phipps, executive director of Tillamook Estuaries Partnership: “Over the last year-and-a-half, it’s been an issue that’s been raising in prominence along the coastline. In our area, there have been groups that have been coming together to talk about what is happening in the ocean.”