Scientists reported Wednesday that low levels of radiation from Japan's Fukushima disaster first detected off the California coast two years ago have been declining ever since and remain well below any levels considered unsafe for humans.
The scientists, from UC Santa Cruz and Stony Brook University in New York, were responding to public concerns raised this week by an Internet video claiming that dangerously high radiation levels had been detected in the sands of Pacifica State Beach.
The video has gone viral and shows an unidentified man carrying a commercial Geiger counter that displays radiation counts purportedly rising to "alert" levels as he walks along the beach often frequented by surfers.
An Internet "news" site is claiming that news of the radioactivity is being suppressed by unnamed government sources.
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"There is no public health risk at California beaches due to radioactivity related to events at Fukushima," the California Department of Public Health said Tuesday.
"Recent tests by the San Mateo County Public Health Department show that elevated levels of radiation at Half Moon Bay are due to naturally occurring materials and not radioactivity associated with the Fukushima incident," it said.
NOTES: This is a good article and has some valid points. We do live in a radioactive world and some of that comes from natural elements (radon gas from decaying uranium, etc.) but the difficulty in all of this arises from the fact that TEPCO has been dishonest, the Japanese government has been dishonest and the U.S. Government agencies have been more than lax in their testing. Essentially they just turned off the sensors and left all of us to wonder what is really going on so this is prime real estate for stories that become larger than the truth.
Truth. The truth is not the large story that is found at places on the web but at the same time it is not this story. The truth is Fukushima is spewing radiation into the ocean and into the air every day. This higher than background radiation I firmly believe is likely from radioactive natural elements in the cliffs. I must take issue with the statement that there is not public health risk. There is a risk, even if it is not from Fukushima. All radiation brings with it risk. Even if it is a small risk and Fukushima is not the only source of man made radioactive pollution. Our immune systems are designed to manage the low levels of natural radiation. The human body repairs itself constantly. Man has tipped that balance however with the introduction of man-made radiation which sometimes pushes our immune system beyond it's ability to repair and we end up sick or have cancerous growths.
The real story is that we must put an end to not only nuclear but also coal and other power plants that generate pollutants that weaken us and cause illness. Even if that means limiting our access to power. We can do better as a people, as a world and as a society. But we must work together to do so.
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