Testing for presence of radioactivity in BC Pacific Ocean’s seafood supply
Luan, Amy (author) Sidhu, Bobby (Advisor) Zitouni, Abderrachid (Advisor) British Columbia Institute of Technology School of Health Sciences (Degree granting institution) (editor) (translator)
Abstract: Due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant incident in March 2011, large quantities of contaminated water were released to the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The severity of contamination on the marine environment is unclear, therefore, the public is concerned with the possible internal radiation exposure from ingesting contaminated seafood products caught in the Pacific Ocean. This study was aimed to investigate the presence or absence of gamma radioactivity in commonly consumed seafood products from B.C. In total, ten different species of fish and three different species of shellfish were selected for analysis. For each species of fish, two samples were collected and each sample was from a different local seafood market. For each species of shellfish, ten samples were collected from three different sources. Using the portable GR-135 Plus gamma ray spectrometer, the samples were tested and analyzed for the presence of Fukushima radionuclides, particularly Cesium-137 (Cs-137) and Cesium- 134 (Cs-134).Based on the analyzed fish and shellfish, no gamma radiation was detected. The detector did not identify any gamma radiation over the normal background readings.
© Amy Luan 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author.
2014-08-08
12 pages
Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014. “The views expressed in this paper are those of author and do not necessarily reflect their official policy, position or views of BCIT, the Environmental Health Program or its faculty.” Peer reviewed
