Fish Tests Radiation-negative, But Where’s It From?
By Wawmeesh Hamilton September 20, 2011
Nick Procaylo/PNG
Salmon being tested for radiation from Japan nuclear disaster have come up clean
* Read More:
* Earthquake
* Japan
* Nuclear Radiation
* Radiation
* Salmon
* tsunami
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) has deemed fish
tested in the wake of the Japan nuclear disaster as radiation free, but
will not divulge where samples were taken from.
According to the CFIA, results from 12 fish samples showed minimal
detectable levels of the radioactive particles Cesium -134 and Cesium
-137. The results are below Health Canada’s “actionable levels,” said
CFIA spokesperson Mark Clarke. The CFIA released the results of its
tests on Friday, September 16.
West Coast salmon migration routes are near waters that are feared
contaminated with radioactive fallout from the nuclear reactor that was
damaged by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan last
spring. The agency did not answer repeated questions about where the
samples were taken from in B.C., saying only that they were came from
various processing stations.
The testing was done just as a precaution, authorities said. They had not
expected to find anything. They waited
till now because, although the twin disasters happened in March, the
fish did not return to spawn until now.
Stó:lō Tribal Council fisheries advisor Ernie Crey said he is puzzled at the
agency’s reticence about where the fish were taken from.
“It’s this kind of response from government officials that give rise
to suspicion among Canadians,” Crey told Indian Country Today Media
Network. “There is simply no good reason to withhold this information
from the public.”
Testers could have picked the fish up from a processing plant, caught them on a
recreational fishing charter or bought them from a commercial boat, Crey said.
CFIA will continue to monitor the situation in Japan and assess
impacts on Canada’s food supply. But “no additional testing is planned,” CFIA
spokesperson Alice d’Anjou said.
Fish continue to migrate through waters affected by the reactor
disaster, Crey said. Therefore salmon testing should be longitudinal, he
said. If long-term testing isn’t carried out and something is found
later, then there could be consequences from the top down, he added.
Crey recalled Canada’s 1985 ‘Tuna-gate’ scandal, in which tuna found
by officials to be unfit for human consumption was later given political assent
to be sold.
“The minister and likely several people down the line lost their jobs over
that,” Crey said. “Those are the kind of consequences that current and future
politicians responsible for public health can expect over
this if something is found down the road.”
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/09/fish-tests-radiation-negative-but-wheres-it-from/
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