U.S. SENATOR ADMITS: NO FEDERAL AGENCY CHECKING FOR FUKUSHIMA RADIATION IN OCEAN; AND DON'T EXPECT ANY DUE TO BUDGET CUTS!

U.S. SENATOR ADMITS: NO FEDERAL AGENCY CHECKING FOR FUKUSHIMA RADIATION IN OCEAN; AND DON'T EXPECT ANY DUE TO BUDGET CUTS!
Friday, 06 December 2013 14:44

December 7, 2013 -- (TRN http://www.TurnerRadioNetwork.com ) -- U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) has confirmed that no federal agency is responsible for monitoring radiation

levels in the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan; and says no one should expect federal involvement "due to budget cuts."  This statement comes as

scientists confirm radioactive water from the Fukushima accident will reach the U.S. west coast anytime now.
It is very difficult to obtain accurate information on the dangers from Fukushima radiation to residents of the West Coast of North America, Alaska and Hawaii. On the one hand,

there is fear-mongering and “we’re all going to die” hysteria. On the other hand, there is a tendency for governments to cover up the truth to avoid panic and deflect blame for

bad policy. Japan has just passed a bill which would outlaw most reporting on Fukushima; and the U.S. government is not even monitoring radiation levels in the waters off the

U.S. coast.  As the Cape Cod Times reports:
With the first plume of water carrying radionuclides from Fukushima due to hit the U.S. West Coast any day now, the senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,

Ken Buesseler's  latest project is to convince the federal government to monitor radiation levels in the sea water. “We don’t have a U.S. agency responsible for radiation in the

ocean,” Buesseler said. “It’s really bizarre.”
He spent this past week in Washington, D.C., meeting with representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, asking them to come up with some

sort of plan to keep tabs on levels of radionuclides in the ocean.
Buesseler also talked with U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who agreed the federal government has a role in making sure the oceans are healthy and safe. But Markey said in an

email that an increased federal role is not likely because of budget cuts.
Indeed, Dr. Buesseler points out the circular reasoning which the government is using:
"I completely agree that no radiation has been seen in the regards that we’re not testing for it in any organized way … We have very few data; it’s not really being organized.

The government says we don’t really need to do that because we’re predicting very low levels." so they won't bother testing to see if their predictions are right!   He went on

to say "I’d very much like to see study on our side of the ocean just to confirm these values and build some confidence with the public that’s been concerned about this. They’re

right to be concerned . . ."
People are certainly concerned.  As the Wall Street Journal notes:
Water containing radioactive materials has been leaking from storage tanks and drains at the plant into groundwater and the nearby ocean, raising concerns across the world that

currents might spread radioactivity to faraway places.
But people don’t know where to get accurate information on the risks involved. John Kelley, a professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says he’s not sure

contamination will reach dangerous levels for humans but says without better data, who will know?
“The data they will need is not only past data but current data, and if no one is sampling anything then we won’t really know it, will we?
“The general concern was, is the food supply safe? And I don’t think anyone can really answer that definitively.”
An associate professor and marine chemist at University of Victoria’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences told CBC on November 20th:
"The Department of Fisheries and Oceans — the Institute of Ocean Science … program which is a time series program that monitors the chemistry and biology of the North Pacific

that’s headed up by Maria Robert. They’re making measurements of these Fukushima-source radionuclides offshore, and they’re starting to detect the presence of the plume of

radioactivity."
(Incidentally – because rain is one of the main ways that radiation can spread – seawater which evaporates and then rains on the coast can dump radiation inland for some

distance).
Given these facts, it seems imperative for citizens in the U.S. and Canada to begin contacting government officials to demand radiation monitoring and public reporting.  Japan

couldn't stop the leaking radiation, so they outlawed information about the leaks with a new law rammed-through their government today.  Citizens in North America cannot afford

to have their health endangered by government inaction and we won't be shut-up about it.