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Editorial: Information vacuum

Radioactive material from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has been detected in B.C. The level of radioactivity is probably quite low and is no immediate reason for alarm.

Radioactive material from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has been detected in B.C. The level of radioactivity is probably quite low and is no immediate reason for alarm. What is concerning is that it was detected through the efforts of a private citizen, not by a watchful, protective federal government.

A soil sample from Kilby Provincial Park near Agassiz was collected by a citizen and given to scientists at Simon Fraser University. The sample tested positive for Cesium 134. The level of the radioactive substance has not been determined, but it is thought to be low.

The blogosphere has been alive with reports of radioactivity coming from Japan to the West Coast of North America. Many of the reports are greatly exaggerated or complete fiction, but that doesn’t mean the potential for problems should be dismissed. Such rumours only grow in the absence of solid information, and the Canadian government’s cutbacks have shifted the burden of monitoring for pollution to academics and volunteers.

“The Canadian government is the one that should be doing something, should be taking action to keep monitoring to see how these contaminants are behaving, what are the levels and what is next,” said SFU professor Juan Jose Alava.

That’s a little hard to do for a government bent on cutting funding for research, muzzling scientists and restricting information.