University of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick

[bananas]

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/01/fukushima-radiation-may-making-alaska-seals-sick.html

University of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick
Posted on January 26, 2014 by WashingtonsBlog

Is Fukushima Radiation Making West Coast Wildlife Sick?

American sailors on the USS Reagan got really sick after having snowball fights with radioactive snow blowing off of the coasts of Fukushima.

University of Alaska professors Doug Dasher, John Kelley, Gay Sheffield, and Raphaela Stimmelmayr theorize that radioactive snow might have also caused Alaska’s seals to become sick (page 222):

On March 11, 2011 off Japan’s west coast, an earthquake-generated tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resulting in a major nuclear accident that included a large release of airborne radionuclides into the environment. Within five days of the accident atmospheric air masses carrying Fukushima radiation were transiting into the northern Bering and Chukchi seas. During summer 2011 it became evident to coastal communities and wildlife management agencies that there was a novel disease outbreak occurring in several species of Arctic ice-associated seals. Gross symptoms associated with the disease included lethargy, no new hair growth, and skin lesions, with the majority of the outbreak reports occurring between the Nome and Barrow region. NOAA and USFWS declared an Alaska Northern Pinnipeds Usual Mortality Event (UME) in late winter of 2011. The ongoing Alaska 2011 Northern Pinnipeds UME investigation continues to explore a mix of potential etiologies (infectious, endocrine, toxins, nutritious etc.), including radioactivity. Currently, the underlying etiology remains undetermined [i.e. scientists don't yet know what caused the seals' sickness, but they think it might have been Fukushima radiation]. We present results on gamma analysis (cesium 134 and 137) of muscle tissue from control and diseased seals, and discuss wildlife health implications from different possible routes of exposure to Fukushima fallout to ice seals. Since the Fukushima fallout period occurred during the annual sea ice cover period from Nome to Barrow, a sea ice based fallout scenario in addition to a marine food web based one is of particular relevance for the Fukushima accident. Under a proposed sea ice fallout deposition scenario, radionuclides would have been settled onto sea ice. Sea ice and snow would have acted as a temporary refuge for deposited radionuclides; thus radionuclides would have only become available for migration during the melting season and would not have entered the regional food web in any appreciable manner until breakup (pulsed release). The cumulative on-ice exposure for ice seals would have occurred through external, inhalation, and non-equilibrium dietary pathways during the ice-based seasonal spring haulout period for molting/pupping/breeding activities. Additionally, ice seals would have been under dietary/metabolic constraints and experiencing hormonal changes associated with reproduction and molting.

Here are some pictures of the sick seals:





Many other West Coast animals have gotten sick. Scientists need to get to the bottom of what is making them sick, whether it’s radiation or something else.

[DFW]

1. If that is being caused by radiation then there is another big worry, too

Wild Alaskan salmon used to count as one of the healthiest fish to eat.

If that is radiation affecting Alaska's seals, it might be affecting the salmon as well.

[RobertEarl]

13. In time, yes

There already was a great amount of artificial radiation in the Pacific before Fukushima blew up, melted down, and started spewing its' guts into the ocean. Fish managed.

This article deals with what happened in the first few weeks after 3/11. Air monitors, from Alaska down to the Baja of California, registered Fukushima derived radioactive particles. Most of those particles were washed into the ocean, and being relatively heavy, sank to the bottom and into the sediment.

Not so on the ice. Not until the ice melted did the particles sink. The problem seals had is that they slept in the particles. The problem fish will have is they will eventually uptake the sediment particles via the food-web.

Now that there has been nearly 3 years of fluid released into the ocean, the entire water body is becoming contaminated. Then the fish will be swimming in the pollution all the days of their lives. We will see how well they evolve, eh?

[glowing]

2. A necropsie needs to be performed.

[RobertEarl]

14. Yes it does

There were reports from a year+ ago that studies were under way to find out what was infecting the seals. For some reason that report has not yet surfaced.

[newfie11]

3. Well this was to be expected

And yes it goes up the food chain.
Japan isn't the only country with a blackout on fucashima.
Here in America we have a history of ignoring radiation exposure until it become obvious.
Ambrosia lake NM, the bomb blasts in NV etc.
Its not rocket science to see what has been coming our way both in air and water.
No I do not trust my government, I am a downwinder.

[kristopher]

4. More information

https://www.sfos.uaf.edu/people/profile.php?uid=2058

http://www.orion-uaf.org/team.shtml

http://seagrant.uaf.edu/map/staff/sheffield.php

[W.J. McCabe]

5. We are such an obnoxious and dangerous species.

[navarth]

7. Yes. I get a heartache looking at these pictures.

These poor innocent creatures. Those beautiful little faces scarred and poisoned. Aaargh.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Painful just to know it has happened. Unbearable. n/t

[Bill USA]

24. next it will be humans..(if we keep fooling around with nukes)

[navarth]

27. Normally I would say that would be a boon to the innocent creatures around us

But they would probably all be gone before we got our comeuppance.

Individually, I can find wonderful humans. As a species, we are poison. Sorry to say.

[mindwalker_i]

6. Oh come on, what a few neutrons

between friends? Besides, they're neutral. It says so right in their name, so they can't possible be harmful!

[XemaSab]

8. If it's radiation--and that's a big if--

it's probably from the literal tons of radioactive material that the Russians dumped in the Arctic Ocean and not from the literal ounces of material (if that) that blew up there from Fukushima.

[kristopher]

9. That isn't what the research proposes

They are investigating a specific pathway for poisoning by fallout from Fukushima.
The abstract is posted above.

[XemaSab]

10. My friend's wife was at the conference

I'll see what she has to say about it.

[joshcryer]

20. Let us know, I know you're an impact assessment geek.

Your credentials are the only ones I trust in this thread.

[RobertEarl]

25. I look forward to that report

It would only be fair to have the point backed up by something that makes any sense. As it is it is just speculation. Unfounded and off topic.

[RobertEarl]

11. The research says

The deposits were from the air and landed on the ice. On the surface of the ice. On the top of the hard ice where the babies are calved and where the seals lounge when not in the water. The ice is their home. The ice is their bed.

Not until the ice melted did the radioactive particles enter the water. In the meantime the seal rolled around on the radioactive particles.

Humans had clothes to protect them. And houses whereupon the radioactive particles landed. Humans did not calve their young on the roofs. Particles from the air did not land on their beds. Humans were protected.

The sea life was not protected and got dosed.

This is not rocket science, and the crap from Fukushima did land on the ice. People are still in denial about all this and so people are kinda dumb.

[flamingdem]

15. This makes sense. It's heartbreaking

and it's just the beginning.

I agree with you about denial. People are fussing over their organic food meanwhile the entire food chain is at risk not to mention creatures who don't deserve to suffer human stupidity.

[Systematic Chaos]

18. Well...yanno...FUKUSHIMA FUKUSHIMA FUUUKUUUUUSHIIIIIMMMAAAAA yanks a LOT more chains...

...than any sort of discussion of how all that coal that gets burned in China, and then goes on to create a great deal of the smog along the Pacific US coast, might actually be causing literal tons of radioactive and heavy metal-contaminated ash to settle in the waters of the entire northern Pacific Ocean.

That's abstract stuff right there, and while definitely worthy of study and immediate action, accomplishes little in the way of response when compared to withering cries of FUKUSHIMA FUKUSHIMA FUUUKUUUUUSHIIIIIMMMAAAAA, when coupled with pictures of suffering pretty furry things.

P.S. -- Anyone who wants to take a shot at me that I don't care about those seals better step right on the fuck back. I do care, which explains why I'm so thoroughly livid right now as to post the way I am in this thread! But I'll be good and goddamned if I'm not going to sound off when so many other factors and forms of pollution which could easily cause the seals and other wildlife to suffer, but then those go largely ignored in favor of this sort of highly speculative, almost certain bullshit just because the NUKE PLANT made headlines!

Who reading this already knew about the oceanic garbage gyres? Who didn't? Raise your hands, people. And, in light of that, does it not seem even remotely likely that countless billions of little plastic nurdles (which, from memory, is either very close to or exactly what micro-bits of plastic are referred to) aren't up there in the Arctic waters by now, fucking over everything that lives and breathes?

Who reading this didn't even give a moment's thought to XemaSab's mention of the Russian radioactive waste dumping until scrolling downthread far enough to read her post? Same thing. Show of hands here, please.

Nah, but instead, it's gonna be FUKUSHIMA all the way, because teh nukes are bad, mmmkay? And solar is gonna save us!

Yeah, fuckin' whatever....

*sigh*

[joshcryer]

19. Coal is literally 3 times more radioactive than nuclear.

In the United States. It's probably far far more radioactive in China without scrubbers on their plants where they have smog that blots out the sun. There are roughly five times as many coal plants as nuclear plants.

So coal releases 15 times more radiation into the environment than nuclear does, around the world. And it releases CO2. And we're still building one every week.

[kristopher]

21. Still engaging in science free nuclear cheerleading, I see.

[joshcryer]

22. only posting facts

In fact nuclear is a dud BECAUSE so many coal plants are going up and nuclear takes too long to build

[RobertEarl]

26. Wow, chaos

Talk about someone with their hair on fire!!

Quotes: "..withering cries of FUKUSHIMA FUKUSHIMA FUUUKUUUUUSHIIIIIMMMAAAAA"

"Anyone who wants to take a shot at me that I don't care about those seals better step right on the fuck back... I'm so thoroughly livid right now... I'll be good and goddamned if I'm not going to sound off....highly speculative, almost certain bullshit just because the NUKE PLANT...."


What is YOUR problem? Is the radiation getting to you?

[flamingdem]

16. GOOD FOR THEM! They have the courage to examine this

and you can bet they have many detractors.

[Systematic Chaos]

17. So let me see if I understand the New DU Math (tm) correctly....

Does this mean that E/E - intelligence + appeal to emotion + speculative "woo" = Good Reads?

Anywhere to get a little traction when you're clearly outgunned, I s'pose....

[Bill USA]

23. Jesus! But it's 'too cheap to meter"..

recommended!!

[Bill USA]

28. there is also an unexplained MASS die-off of starfish in the Pacific Northwest...

Mystery as MILLIONS of starfish wash up dead on west coast

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550621/MILLIONS-starfish-mysteriously-dying-North-Americas-west-coast.html