A nuclear lecturer says the low levels of radioactivity found in tuna caught near San Diego can produce a small increase in cancer risks.
Daniel Hirsch, lecturer on nuclear policy at the University of California, is concerned about the radioactive tuna caught in August last year that reportedly swam from Japan.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL HIRSCH, PRESIDENT OF THE COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP, A NUCLEAR POLICY GROUP, AND LECTURER ON NUCLEAR POLICY AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ, SAYING:
"So the concern is that not any individual person eating one tuna is going to have a problem, but that over large numbers of people, the small increase in radiation will produce a small increase in cancer risks."
Researchers believe the fishes left Japanese waters about a month after the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant
The discovery has alarmed many people like Hirsch, but he says there is no easy solution either.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL HIRSCH, PRESIDENT OF THE COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP, A NUCLEAR POLICY GROUP, AND LECTURER ON NUCLEAR POLICY AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ, SAYING:
"The fundamental lesson is to never let this happen again.We cannot live in a world that we are so dependent upon, and continue to have events that release vast amounts of radioactivity into that environment. It comes back to us."
Most of the radiation was released over a few days in April 2011 after the incident
Unlike some other compounds, radioactive cesium does not quickly sink to the sea bottom but remains dispersed in the water.
Fishes can swim right through it, ingesting it through their gills.
Sophia Soo, Reuters.
