– Expansive ‘death zone’ of birds on Alaska island, perhaps thousands washed ashore — Resident: Radiation’s always on the backs of our minds — Samples sent to lab for testing — Reporter: ‘Facebook alarmists’ fear Fukushima to blame (ENENews, Nov 27, 2013):
Alaska Dispatch, Nov. 26, 2013: Hundreds of dead seabirds wash ashore on Alaska island in Bering Sea […] perhaps thousands […] following storms that slammed into Western Alaska earlier this month and littered stretches of St. Lawrence Island with the carcasses of crested auklets, murres, ducks and other birds. Facebook alarmists feared Fukushima radiation was to blame […] The expanse of the death zone and the variety of birds — cormorants and northern fulmars were also found — suggest storms that recently lashed the region with powerful gusts may be the culprit, said [Peter Bente, a state wildlife biologist] […] Still, samples of the carcasses were sent to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., for testing. […] The victims were nearly all young […] scores of dead and sick ringed seals — some with open wounds, unusual hair loss and internal ulcers — that began washing up in summer 2011 in Western Alaska. Even today, a few seals continue to trickle ashore […]
Perry Pungowiyi, an island resident: “[Radiation’s] always on the backs of our minds.”
Doug Dasher, a researcher with the University of Alaska Fairbanks: “[St. Lawrence Island’s] way too far north for the marine transport to occur right now.”
Prior statements from Dasher, Nov. 6, 2013: “It’s one of the largest releases that’s ever occurred into the marine environment. It’s occurred in a shorter period of time than anything has occurred before. […] We really need to sample to understand this, we really need to look at what’s happening out there in the ecosystem.”
Monitoring of Radioactivity in Caribou and Beluga in response to the Fukushima accident, 2012/13: This project will determine radioactive contaminant levels in Canadian Arctic caribou and beluga whale, in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, which began on March 11, 2011. These measurements will determine whether contaminant levels in these resources have changed since the accident […] the possible human health impacts of the beluga and caribou measurements will be determined.
All nuclear reactors of the world need to be shut down. Fukushima is the beginning of the end in teaching mankind about the loss of human and animal lives it takes from our planet. We have to learn to become a sufficient society without the means of nuclear reactors. All of which are build near great waters and future accidents are only waiting to happen. This should serve as a wake up call for all.
I feel the pain of the ocean and have had little sleep since the recent typhoon. I grieve deeply for the loss and suffering of the magnificent sea creatures who are helpless victims trapped in a toxic world as the result of humanities folly. I will not touch seafood as I wish to not be a contributor in the continual rape of the seas. I live on an island. The ocean is my home. I pray for its survival and beg for the continued exploitation of natural resources to be stopped. I would love to see a fund raising event to pay fishermen for collecting the rubbish still floating around from the tsunami and human filth and to put an immediate stop to the harvesting of the remaining fish so that the fish left may help other sea creatures dependent on them for food. I feel scientist must look into the possibility of using microbes for radiation clean up.