Blog 4: Radioactive Fish from Fukushima meltdown found in California

In short, the article discusses new evidence (dated 2/22/13) that a number of bluefin tuna caught off the coast of Californa have been tested positive for low levels of radiocesium. Standford Universty's Hopkins Marine Station said that the levels are "well below" the numbers deemed safe for consumption, but the article's main draw is that almost two years have passed since the meltdown at Fukushima and the world is still being affected. 

The article also mentioned that the Hopkins Marine Station conducted this study as a follow up to a similar one carried out in 2011, in hopes that they could detect a measurable drop or rise in the fish. The good news is that they did indeed find a drop in radiation levels of the Californian bluefin, but the frightening news is that fish near Fukushima and the power plant remained at the same levels as in 2011. The article points out that these new findings are a possible sign of continuing, low-level leaks occurring at the plant.

I chose this article because radiation contamination is a huge problem, and the fact that it has spread from Japan all the way to California settles it as current, global, and sociological, seeing as the long-term effects of radiation have show to be just as devastating as the immediate impacts. I would argue that the idea that radiation is higher or widespread in Japan (and also globally, as the article shows) than the government or TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co., the company responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor) wants people to know could form a sense of alienation between the general society and those in power.

It is hard to know what to trust as a result of the the government controlling the means of information, and I think it's already evident that the pollution (both documented and perceived) is causing a social polarization in Japan. As I've seen in my class on contemporary topic in Japan, the nuclear movement is gaining more and more speed, and rising high in numbers as a backlash against this disaster.

I think that the article did a good job of bringing to light an easily understandable example of the widespread effects of the radiation leak, but I also felt that it could have possibly gone into more depth regarding the long lasting effects on the bluefin population or how the people in both Japan and the US are being affected by this kind of effect. On the other hand, I appreciated the insight into how something so terrible could possible help the bluefin population from overfishing. Public belief or prejudice against what they believe to be contaminated fish could lead to a much lower level of consumption and thus, a lower amount of overfishing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/22/radioactive-fish_n_2743899.html

11:33 pm 2/24/13 Anthony Allegrezza