A report on radioactivity measurements of fish samples from the west coast of Canada
- DOI
- Language of the publication
- English
- Date
- 2014-05-02
- Type
- Article
- Author(s)
- Chen, Jing
- Cooke, Michael W.
- Mercier, Jean-Francois
- Ahier, Brian
- Trudel, Marc
- Workman, Greg
- Wyeth, Malcolm
- Brown, Robin
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
Abstract
Even though many studies have shown that radioactive caesium levels in fish caught outside of Japan were below experimental detection limits of a few Bq kg(-1), significant public concern has been expressed about the safety of consuming seafood from the Pacific Ocean following the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident. To address the public concerns, samples of commonly consumed salmon and groundfish harvested from the Canadian west coast in 2013 were analysed for radioactive caesium. None of the fish samples analysed in this study contained any detectable levels of (134)Cs and (137)Cs under given experimental setting with the average detection limit of ∼2 Bq kg(-1). Using a conservative worst-case scenario where all fish samples would contain (137)Cs exactly at the detection limit level and (134)Cs at half of the detection limit level (to account for much shorter half-life of (134)Cs), the resulting radiation dose for people from consumption of this fish would be a very small fraction of the annual dose from exposure to natural background radiation in Canada. Therefore, fish, such as salmon and groundfish, from the Canadian west coast are of no radiological health concern.
Plain language summary
The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011 resulted in in significant and ongoing releases of radioactive contaminants, especially the long-lived radioactive caesium-137 (137Cs), into the Pacific Ocean. This raised public concerns about the safety of consuming west coast seafood. After the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident, many studies have shown that radioactive caesium levels in fish caught outside of Japan were below experimental detection limits. These findings are summarised in the document, Preliminary Dose Estimation from the Nuclear Accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami prepared by the World Health Organization. To complement these findings from Canadian perspective, more than 60 fish samples (adult salmon and groundfish) harvested from the Canadian west coast by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2013 were provided to Health Canada for radiological analysis. None of the fish samples analyzed in this study contained any detectable levels of 134Cs and 137Cs under given experimental setting with the average detection limit of about 2 Bq/kg. Using a conservative worst-case scenario where all fish samples would contain 137Cs exactly at the detection limit level and 134Cs at half of the detection limit level (to account for much shorter half-life of 134Cs), the resulting radiation dose from potential exposure to assumed 134Cs and 137Cs contamination would be a very small fraction of the annual dose from exposure to natural background radiation in Canada. Therefore, fish, such as salmon and groundfish, from Canadian west coast are of no radiological health concern.
Subject
- Health,
- Health and safety