Yesterday’s release of 11,000 tons of low-level radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean is starting to look slightly scary, as small fish caught in waters south of the Fukushima prefecture have been found to contain radioactive cesium (radioactive element with a half life of 2-30 years) over the legal limit of 500 becquerels (the fish had 526). I’m not sure if the release of radioactive water alone is what made the fish glow contaminated the fish, but it certainly added to it – or will do so soon.
To that, add the fact that there’s the leak which raised the radioactivity of seawater near the nuclear plant 7.5 million times and you’ve got perfect conditions for Blinky the fish. Or Fishzilla.
Meanwhile, the No. 1 through 3 reactor buildings at the Fukushima nuclear power plant are off limits even for emergency workers after radiation levels became higher than what monitoring devices could measure. Don’t worry though, it’s still no Chernobyl.
