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Comment: No need to worry about radiation from Japan

The March 12 commentary “Radiation from Japan found in B.C. may raise health concerns, prof says” compels me to respond to the unnecessary fear raised by the report.

The March 12 commentary “Radiation from Japan found in B.C. may raise health concerns, prof says” compels me to respond to the unnecessary fear raised by the report.

Various studies since the Fukushima events of 2011 have concluded that the health risks to Canadians living on the West Coast — and even Japan’s population — are very low.

Cesium-134 and cesium-137 are two common byproducts of nuclear fission and can be measured in the environment for some time after events such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. As both these radionuclides are transformed to non-radioactive elements over time (that is, as they decay), their quantities in the environment decrease.

Based on the monitoring of fish and seafood that has taken place since the Fukushima accident, it is very unlikely that someone in North America would consume local seafood that contains either Cs-134 or Cs-137. In 2011 and 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested domestic fish from B.C. for radioactivity. Neither Cs-134 nor Cs-137 was detected in any of the 32 fish samples.

The Canadian Albacore Tuna Association has also tested B.C. tuna samples collected between 2010 and 2012 and detected no cesium. In August 2011, levels that were roughly 300 times lower than levels that would prompt further U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation were detected in Pacific bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California.

The USFDA states that it has no evidence that radionuclides from the Fukushima incident are present in the U.S. food supply at levels that would pose a public health concern. Consequently, seafood caught off the Canadian West Coast does not represent a potential health risk to consumers.

It is well known that marine life such as fish and whales can consume cesium that they may be exposed to in their marine ecosystems. However, the claims in the article are based on an inappropriate use of an environmental transfer model that does not consider that the source of cesium from the Fukushima accident will be reduced over time. It is therefore highly unlikely that after 30 years whales will contain levels of cesium that are of concern, as was indicated in the article.

No one disputes the fact that radionuclides from Fukushima have crossed the Pacific Ocean. Any radionuclide from Fukushima is so diluted by the time that it reaches the West Coast that there is no need for Canadians to worry about human health effects. To imply otherwise is simply irresponsible.

Dr. Patsy Thompson is director general of the Environmental and Radiation Protection and Assessment branch of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.