Radioactive isotopes from Japans Fukushima nuclear disaster turned up in bluefin tuna caught off California in August, a new study reports. The 15 fish that were tested contained 10 times the background levels of radioactive cesium, including a short-lived isotope that the fish must have absorbed while swimming in contaminated waters near Japan before migrating east across the Pacific.
Contaminated material from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant will be collected over 30 years and stored at a secure site at a cost of 1.1 trillion yen ($14 billion), according to the country’s environment ministry.
Thirty-two years ago today, I noticed that things were odd at our pre-school. The teachers had drawn the blinds closed in a few rooms and at least one of the other kids had had his mom pick him up in a big wood-sided station wagon before the day was actually over. I didn’t really know much more about what was going on, or why the day was strange, until years later I read much more about the accident at Three Mile Island and realized that since my pre-school and my home were just ten miles from the reactor meltdown, it’s surprising that the parents of our classroom full of three year olds weren’t more disturbed.
Dispatches From The Front 