FDA says US, imported seafood has no radiation risk from Fukushima
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton Sept. 23, 2013 – In a September update on food safety issues related to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the FDA declared that there is no public health concern for the U.S. They said that the same holds true for imported seafood, including seafood from Japan. For example, in a study that detected very low levels of cesium in bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California, the FDA says these levels were 300 times lower than the level that would even trigger an investigation to see if there was a public health concern. In short, although some specific radioactive isotopes may be detected from time to time, the FDA says that these levels are so low as to provide no issue whatsoever for public health.Their full statement is below:To date, FDA 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. This is true for both FDA-regulated food products imported from Japan and U.S. domestic food products, including seafood caught off the coast of the United States.Consequently, FDA is not advising consumers to alter their consumption of specific foods imported from Japan or domestically produced foods, including seafood. FDA continues to closely monitor the situation at and around the Fukushima Dai-ichi facility, as it has since the start of the incident and will coordinate with other Federal and state agencies as necessary, standing ready to take action if needed, to ensure the safety of food in the U.S. marketplace.Import Alert # 99-33, which instructs FDA field personnel to detain foods shipments from Japan if the food is likely to contain radionuclide contamination, remains active. In addition, FDA tests for radionuclides as part of its routine surveillance, through the toxic elements in food and foodware monitoring program and through its Total Diet Study.On top of the information obtained from its testing of imported and domestic foods, FDA stays current on radiation monitoring efforts by other U.S. Government agencies, including the environmental radiation monitoring program (RadNet) conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additionally, the Agency consults on a formal and informal basis with experts from government, academia and the private sector on radiation safety issues. FDA scientists also keep abreast of scientific publications and reports from both private and public scientific institutions, including oceanographic research institutions. For example, a study published in 2012 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reported finding very low levels of Cesium in Pacific Bluefin tuna caught by recreational fisherman off the coast of California in August 2011. FDA reviewed this study and determined that the levels of cesium were roughly 300 times lower than levels that would prompt FDA to investigate further to determine if there were a health concern.Read the full article here.
Tsunami: Fisheries hit by safety fears
The nuclear crisis has spread fear among people all over the world, but fishermen in areas around the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant say the perception of danger is unfairly affecting their livelihoods.
Although few of their catches are contaminated with radioactive materials beyond allowable limits, buyers and consumers have refused to buy, knocking down the market prices of seafood.
"How long should we wait until the situation gets better? For days? For months?" asked Tetsuro Tsuchida, head of Kujukuri Makiami Fisheries Cooperative.
"Sardines usually sell for ¥40 per kilo. But now the price is down to about ¥15 to ¥20," Tsuchida said.
"I want to know if we're going to be compensated for the loss. If so, who will do it? The prefectural, or central government?" he asked.
Highly radioactive water from the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant flowed into the sea until April 6. The operator also intentionally dumped about 10,000 tons of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific to empty tanks to hold far more toxic water from the crippled reactor buildings.
Read the rest at The Japan Times.
California City Charts Course in Tsunami's Wake
By Tamara AudiCRESCENT CITY, Calif.—Somewhere under the murky waters of this city's demolished harbor lay the remains of Marty Lopez's fishing business."That boat kept me alive for 27 years," said Mr. Lopez, gazing out at the harbor where his boat, the Nellie, sank in the March 11 tsunami. The Nellie, like many boats here, wasn't insured.Japan's 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed thousands and yielded an unfolding nuclear disaster. No one was hurt when the tsunami arrived in Crescent City, but the wave destroyed its harbor, threatening the economic future of the 157-year-old fishing village just south of Oregon. 
"We're fighting to survive," said Richard Young, the harbor master, in an interview last week. He surveyed the damage to the small but vital fishing industry: Forty-seven boats—many of them part of the commercial fishing fleet of about 100 boats—were damaged, and 16 more were sunk.Earlier in the day, Mr. Young told an official in another city where he had recently accepted a position as harbor master that he wouldn't be taking the job. "Things are so bad here I just can't leave," he told the city official on the phone.The harbor's wooden docks are in pieces; chunks of broken concrete are pushed to the edges of the harbor. Masts and bows poke out of the water as divers work to map the underwater wreckage. Smashed boats are crushed against each other and the harbor wall.Read the rest of the story at The Wall Street Journal.
Tsunami Passes Alaska, No Reports of Damage
The massive earthquake that struck Japan late Thursday triggered a tsunami which swept along the Alaska coastline from the Aleutian chain to Southeast Alaska Friday morning, causing no reports of damage to date.A stretch of coastline between Attu and Amchitka Pass was under a tsunami warning Friday morning, while the rest of the state faced a less-severe tsunami advisory that continued into the afternoon.A tide gauge at Shemya, Alaska, monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed water rising 5 feet early Friday. Meters near Adak and Dutch Harbor showed smaller rises.The State Emergency Coordination Center activated late Thursday and plans to remain active until all Alaska communties are in the clear. There have been no reports of damage.“Many of the communities now threatened by these tsunamis have recently received new all-hazardRead the rest of the story here.
B.C. spared major tsunami damage
By: CTV.ca News StaffDate: Friday Mar. 11, 2011 4:05 PM PT
Tsunami brings storm-like waves to Wash. coast
The Associated PressFriday, March 11, 2011; 12:15 PMMOCLIPS, Wash. -- Active waves similar to any stormy day on the coast were the only sign that a tsunami had arrived in Washington.
Oregon Coast tsunami: Serious damage reports from Brookings, Crescent City ports
By The Oregonian
Friday, March 11, 2011, 2:30 PM
Reports of serious damage are coming from the Port of Brookings-Harbor in the wake of Friday's earthquake-tsunami in Japan.Chris Cantwell, the port's operations supervisor said 70 percent of the port's commercial basin was destroyed."A third of our sports basin destroyed. We have boats on top of another. Probably half-a-dozen sunk," he told The Oregonian.Cantwell said the first wall of water came in about 8:05 a.m. Friday. Three waves in all came in before 10 a.m. The third one inflicted the most damage."We had one fatality ... dead body found in a boat. Not entirely sure the guy died during the tsunami. Possibly before," he said.Read the rest of the story here.