Radioactive cesium from Fukushima on tour of Pacific Ocean

I wonder how long before it reaches here.....

Amplify’d from www.telegraph.co.uk

Radioactive cesium from the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant is circulating with the currents in the Pacific Ocean and will wash up on Japan's shores again in between 20 and 30 years.

A TEPCO worker checks radiation levels around piping at the Fukushima nuclear power plant Photo: AFP/GETTY

Scientists from the government's Meteorological Research Institute and the Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry announced their findings at a meeting of the Geochemical Society of Japan this week, adding that some of the cesium will also flow into the Indian Ocean and, eventually, reach the Atlantic.

The scientists estimated that some 3,500 terabecquerels of cesium-137 was released into the sea directly from the plant between March 11, when the earthquake and tsunami struck, and the end of May. Another 10,000 terabecquerels of cesium fell into the ocean after escaping from the reactors in the form of steam.

One terabecquerel is a trillion becquerels, the standard measure of radiation, and the Japanese government has set the permissible level of iodine-131 for vegetables and fish at 2,000 becquerels per kilogram (2.2lbs).

Cesium is considered a more serious threat, however, because of its relatively long half-life. Cesium has a half-life of around 30 years, can accumulate in muscles and is a known cause of cancer.

The researchers believe that the cesium has initially dispersed into the Pacific from the coast of Fukushima Prefecture but will be taken to the southwest by the prevailing currents at a depth of around 1,300 feet. Just short of the International Date Line, the shifting currents will take the cesium close to the Philippines before it again turns north on the Japan Current. Read more at www.telegraph.co.uk

 See this Amp at http://tgr.ph/qPR1Os

Hong Kong finds radioactive iodine in fish

Ugh...

Amplify’d from www.heraldsun.com.au

A SMALL amount of radioactive iodine-131 has been found in a sample of fish taken from a wholesale market in Hong Kong, the Government said today.

Hong Kong has been monitoring radiation levels in the city's food and water supply and atmosphere in the wake of the crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power station. The level of radiation found in the sample of grey mullet by Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department - 7.7 becquerels a kilogram - was well below the Government guideline of 100 becquerels a kilogram. "Based on risk assessment, normal consumption of grey mullets at this low radiation level will not pose any health risk to the consumer," the Government said in a statement. The statement did not say whether the iodine could be traced to the Fukushima plant, which released radioactive material into the air and water after it was badly damaged in Japan's earthquake-tsunami disaster. Read more at www.heraldsun.com.au

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/jTmag9

Giant jellyfish invade Japan

So what happens when they mix in with radioactive water used to cool down the reactors.... radioactive jellyfish? Hmmm....

Amplify’d from www.telegraph.co.uk

Millions of 6ft, 440lb jellyfish are congregating off the western coast of Japan, their numbers apparently boosted by rising sea temperatures and a decline in natural predators.

Nomura's jellyfish are one of the largest species of the creature in the world. Their scale was demonstrated in the autumn of 2009, when a 10-ton fishing boat was sunk as the crew tried to haul in a net containing dozens of the creatures. Increasing numbers of the jellyfish have been recorded in the Sea of Japan since 2002, with experts suggesting the population explosion in recent years is due to the 1.89 degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature in waters off China making conditions more favourable for breeding. In the early 1900s, according to Professor Shinichi Uye, a leading expert on the species at the Graduate School of Biosphere Science of Hiroshima University, large numbers were only reported every 40 years or so. Another contributing factor, experts believe, is a decline in the number of predators, which include sea turtles and certain species of fish. Japan was invaded on a similar scale in the summer of 2005, when the jellyfish damaged nets, rendered fish inedible with their toxic stings and even caused injuries to fishermen. In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment caused by the creatures. Read more at www.telegraph.co.uk

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/hMEyM7

Related articles

• Giant jellyfish invade Japan (telegraph.co.uk)
• Is a jellyfish dangerous to human (wiki.answers.com)
• World's biggest captive jellyfish given to aquarium (telegraph.co.uk)
• Research in Action: Giant Jellyfish Jam the Sea of Japan (livescience.com)
• Squee Spree: Sea Turtles Vs. Jellyfish (squee.icanhascheezburger.com)
• Lion's Mane Jellyfish Stings 150 People in Rye New Hampshire (nowpublic.com)
• Beware: Jellyfish! (reefwatch.wordpress.com)

Yummmy!

Got eel?


From Site:
It's the hottest season of the year in Japan, and that means it's eel season. So, bottom's up!

A canned drink called "Unagi Nobori," or "Surging Eel," made by Japan Tobacco Inc., hit the nation's stores this month just ahead of Japan's annual eel-eating season, company spokesman Kazunori Hayashi said Monday.

Many Japanese believe eating eel boosts stamina in hot weather.
The fizzy, yellow-colored drink contains extracts from the head and bones of eel and five vitamins - A, B1, B2, D and E - contained in the fish.

The Japanese particularly like to eat eel on traditional eel days, which fall on July 24 and Aug. 5 this year.
[via: http://abclocal.go.com]

Deepest Underwater Postbox

Guinness World Records

The world's deepest working underwater postbox is located 10 metres (32.8 ft.) beneath the waters of Susami Bay, Japan.
[via: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com]
[via: http://www.pinktentacle.com]

A Octopus With 96 Tentacles

A Octopus With 96 Tentacles

From Site:
This strange specimen is on permanent display at the Shima Marineland Aquarium in Japan. The octopus actually has 8 arms attached to its body, and the additional 84 tentacles are all extensions of those 8. 

The 96-tentacled Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) was captured in 1998 in nearby Matoya Bay. It weighed 3.3 kilograms (about 7 lbs) and measured 90 centimeters (3 ft) long. Before dying 5 months after being placed in captivity, the creature laid eggs, making it the first known extra-tentacled octopus to do so in captivity. All the baby octopuses hatched with the normal number of tentacles, but unfortunately they only survived a month.

Currently there is no theory that fully explains the surplus tentacles, although speculation maintains the oddity to be the result of abnormal regeneration that occurred after the octopus suffered some sort of injury.

[via: http://everythingoctopus.blogspot.com/]
http://everythingoctopus.blogspot.com/2009/04/octopus-with-96-tentacles.html

Japan to sell research whale meat - The Washington Times: United Press International

Japan to sell research whale meat
What I"m wondering...100 minke whales, 50 Bryde's whales and 50 sei whales,
1,346.20 tons of meat for research?
What and where is exactly their research?
How long have they been researching for...
Do you think they should have found out all they needed by now?