Fukushima Tuna Safe for Consumption, Radiation in Food Minuscule

Radioactive elements found in fish as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan turned out to be comparable, and in some cases, even less, than radiological doses in other commonly consumed foods, according to a recent study.

As the incident resulted in a number of environmental setbacks, including large quantities of radioactive water that was dumped into the Pacific, many became concerned regarding possible levels of radioactivity that could be present in seafood.

According to scientists from Stony Brook University, France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety and Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, much of the radiation found could be pinned to naturally occurring radionuclides that are found in marine wildlife, animals and human fish consumers.

"We showed that doses in all cases were dominated by the naturally occurring alpha-emitter [Polonuim-210] and that Fukushima-derived doses were three to four orders of magnitude below [Polonuim-210-derrived] doses," the researchers wrote in the abstract to their paper, which was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Scientists found radiation levels in Pacific bluefin tuna that were, as noted, "compare to, or less than, the dose all humans routinely obtain from naturally occurring radionuclides in many food items, medical treatments, air travel or other background sources."

Nicholas Fisher, the lead study author said, regarding the American and Japanese seafood consumers, that "the doses attributable to Fukushima-derived radiation were typically 600 and 40 times lower, respectively, than the dose from polonium."

"In estimating human doses of the Fukushima-derived radioactive cesium in bluefin tuna, we found that heavy seafood consumers - those who ingest 124 kg/year, or 273 lbs., which is five times the US national average - even if they ate nothing but the Cesium-contaminated bluefin tuna off California, would receive radiation doses approximately equivalent to that from one dental x-ray and about half that received by the average person over the course of a normal day from a variety of natural and human sources. The resulting increased incidence of cancers would be expected to be essentially undetectable," Fisher added, according to Phys.org. 

However, Fisher cautions that there could be other reasons to worry about the Pacific Bluefin, including overfishing and mercury contamination. According to CNN, Fisher adds that "Anyone who eats a large quantity of bluefin over a long period would be more likely to see ill effects from mercury -- which can damage the brain and nervous systems of young or unborn children -- before facing the threat of cancer from radioactive cesium."