Two radioactive cesium isotopes have been detected offshore Vancouver

Feb 25, 2014 21:31 GMT  ·  By
Researchers document the presence of two radioactive cesium isotopes in Canadian waters
   Researchers document the presence of two radioactive cesium isotopes in Canadian waters

Speaking at yesterday's annual American Geophysical Union's Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu, a team of researchers announced that, according to data at hand, radiation stemming from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan had reached the waters off the coast of Canada.

More precisely, they said that the presence of two radioactive cesium isotopes had been detected offshore Vancouver, British Columbia.

As shown by an analysis of water samples collected in the region, the two radioactive isotopes in question are cesium-134 and cesium-137, Live Science reports.

John Smith, a scientist with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, stresses that, despite the fact that radiation from Fukushima is now present in Canadian waters, the country's residents have nothing to worry about.

This is because local concentrations of said two isotopes fall below Canada's current safety limit for cesium in drinking water. In fact, it appears that they are much lower than what is considered safe.

“These levels are clearly not a human or biological threat in Canada,” John Smith reportedly said.

Interestingly enough, researchers say that, for the time being, radiation originating at Fukushima has not made it all the way to Washington, California or Hawaii.

Thus, although the presence of cesium-137 has been documented in several areas, cesium-134 is yet to make an appearance.

“We have results from eight locations, and they all have cesium-137, but no cesium-134 yet,” specialist Ken Buesseler with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute explained.

Specialists say that, unlike cesium-137, which can show up in water sources as a result of nuclear weapon tests, cesium-134 can only come from Fukushima.

As Ken Buesseler put it, “The only cesium-134 in the North Pacific is there from Fukushima,” This means that its absence in waters off the coast of the United States indicates that radiation from Japan has not yet reached this region.

Researchers reassure that, even if Fukushima radioactivity does eventually reach the United States, its concentrations will be too low to threaten public health and local ecosystems.