EMERGING CONCERNS - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 139

which organisms take up, radiation may also concentrate as it
moves through the food chain.
The wrecked Fukushima power plant released very high
amounts of radiation into the Pacific, where cesium levels shot
up to 45 million times the background level. Thousands of tons
of radioactive water were released into the ocean, and smaller
amounts continue to be released. In June 2012, 15 months after
the accident, 56% of fish tested by the Japanese government
were contaminated with cesium-137 and Cs-134, products of
nuclear fission. Over 9% of the fish catches exceeded Japan's
official ceiling for Cs. Radiation levels were high in many spe-
cies that Japan exports, such as cod, sole, halibut, carp, trout,
and eel. Tuna, octopus, and anchovies have declining Cs levels
after much higher contamination in the months just after the
accident. However, 69% of anchovies still had some Cs contam-
ination in June 2012, as did 32% of the tuna. Commercial fish-
ing has been banned along the Fukushima coastline, although
the discovery of contaminated fish outside the region prompts
concerns that the radiation has spread farther away. Tuna can
migrate across the ocean, and of 15 Pacific bluefin tuna caught
off the California coast in 2012 and analyzed by Madigan
and colleagues, all had radioactive Cs. Although levels were
well below the standard, this confirms that radiation from
the disaster has been carried around the world by migrating
fish. In March 2013, additional information about radioactiv-
ity in fish near Japan revealed a continued cause for concern.
A newspaper reported that one greenling registered very high
levels, as did a rockfish. These were individual fish and not a
representative sample, but nevertheless, the levels were very
high. Reports of continued leakage of highly radioactive water
continued in 2013.
What is light pollution?
Light pollution is excessive or obtrusive artificial light. Like
any other form of pollution, it can disrupt ecosystems and