Radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan is making its way across the Pacific Ocean, and a monitoring network is being set up to keep tabs on when and how much reaches BC’s Coast.
Jay Cullen, a chemical oceanographer and Associate Professor at University of Victoria, says the Integrated Fukushima Ocean Radionuclide Monitoring or InFORM network is getting support from Fisheries and Oceans. Cullen says they’re also recruiting citizen scientists.
Cullen says they’re going to establish 10-15 community monitoring sites on the island and the Sunshine Coast and they need volunteers to sign on by the end of the month.
The data will help determine the potential danger posed by low-level radioactivity crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Cullen says from what they’ve measured so far, the risk is negligible but that could change, and consistent monitoring is the only way to know for sure.
The samples will be sent to labs for analysis and the results will be shared online at www.FukushimaInform.ca, which is where you can go to get involved.
