水銀いらないキャンペーン / No More Mercury Poisoning Campaign » kiki

Fishing for Answers off Fukushima Japan fisheries data provides a look at how the ocean is faring 18 months after the worst accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history

kiki — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:35:53 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Relations Office media@whoi.edu

October 25, 2012 (508) 289-3340 Japan’s “triple disaster,” as it has become known, began on March 11, 2011, and remains unprecedented in its scope and complexity. To understand the lingering effects and potential public health implications of that chain of events, scientists are turning to a diverse and widespread sentinel in the world’s ocean: fish. Events on March 11 began with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the fourth largest ever recorded. The earthquake in turn spawned a massive 40-foot tsunami that inundated the northeast Japanese coast and resulted in an estimated 20,000 missing or dead. Finally, the wave caused catastrophic damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, resulting in the largest accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history, 80 percent of which ended up in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. In a Perspectives article appearing in October 26, 2012, issue of the journalScience, WHOI marine chemist Ken Buesseler analyzed data made publicly available by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) on radiation levels in fish, shellfish and seaweed collected at ports and inland sites in and around Fukushima Prefecture. The picture he draws from the nearly 9,000 samples describes the complex interplay between radionuclides released from Fukushima and the marine environment. In it, Buesseler shows that the vast majority of fish caught off the northeast coast of Japan remain below limits for seafood consumption, even though the Japanese government tightened those limits in April 2012. Nevertheless, he also finds that the most highly contaminated fish continue to be caught off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, as could be expected, and that demersal, or bottom-dwelling fish, consistently show the highest level of contamination by a radioactive isotope of cesium from the damaged nuclear power plant. He also points out that levels of contamination in almost all classifications of fish are not declining, although not all types of fish are showing the same levels, and some are not showing any appreciable contamination. As a result, Buesseler concludes that there may be a continuing source of radionuclides into the ocean, either in the form of low-level leaks from the reactor site itself or contaminated sediment on the seafloor. In addition, the varying levels of contamination across fish types points to complex methods of uptake and release by different species, making the task of regulation and of communicating the reasons behind decision-making to the fish-hungry Japanese public all the more difficult. “To predict the how patterns of contamination will change over time will take more than just studies of fish,” said Buesseler, who led an international research cruise in 2011 to study the spread of radionuclides from Fukushima. “What we really need is a better understanding of the sources and sinks of cesium and other radionuclides that continue to drive what we’re seeing in the ocean off Fukushima.” To help achieve this, Buesseler and his colleague Mitsuo Uematsu at the University of Tokyo are organizing a scientific symposium in Tokyo on November 12 and 13 to present the most current findings available about how radionuclides from Fukushima Dai-ichi have affected the ocean, marine life, seafood, policy decisions, and media coverage to date. The event will also include a free public colloquium in Tokyo on November 14 to help spread information about the lessons learned to the broadest possible audience. This work was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the ocean’s role in the changing global environment.

Originally published: October 25, 2012

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=3622&cid=153749

水銀規制条約まとまり“水俣条約”に

kiki — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:26:08 +0000

1月19日 17時24分

水俣病の原因となった水銀の使用や輸出入などを国際的に規制する新たな条約の制定に向けてスイスで開かれている国連の会議で、日本時間の１９日に条文が決まり、名称は水俣病の教訓を生かしたいとして「水俣条約」に決まりました。

世界の水銀を巡っては、途上国を中心に環境汚染や健康被害が問題となっていて、３年前から水銀の使用や輸出入を規制する新たな国際条約について議論が始まり、今月１３日にスイスのジュネーブで始まった国連の会議で、条文の合意に向けて協議を続けてきました。会議は最終日の１８日ではまとまらず、延長して議論を続けてきましたが、日本時間の１９日午後に条約の内容が決まりました。合意された条文には、▽最終処分する目的など一部を除いて水銀の輸出入を禁止することや、▽水銀が使用されている一部の電池や蛍光灯などの製造や輸出入を２０２０年までに禁止すること、それに▽新規の鉱山からの水銀の産出を禁止し、既存の鉱山についても条約の発効から１５年後までに禁止することなどが盛り込まれました。また条約の前文には、「水俣病を教訓にして水銀を適正に管理し、将来にわたって二度と同じ問題を引き起こさない」という文言が盛り込まれました。条約を巡って日本政府は、水俣病の教訓を忘れないために、名称を「水俣条約」にしたいと提案していて、１９日の会合でも、「水俣病と同じような健康被害や環境破壊を世界のいずれの国でも繰り返さない、という決意を各国で共有するという意味を込めて、この条約が『水俣条約』と名付けられることを望みます」と述べました。条約の名称を巡っては、一部の患者団体から「被害者の救済が終わっていないのに条約名にするのはおかしい」として、反対する声が上がっていましたが、各国が全会一致で了承し、条約名は「水俣条約」に決まりました。水俣条約はことし１０月、熊本市と水俣市で開かれる会議で採択される予定です。

世界の水銀被害

今回、世界的に条約の制定に動き出した背景には、各地で広がる水銀による健康被害や環境汚染があります。国連環境計画によりますと、２０１０年の水銀の大気中への排出量は推計で１９６０トンにのぼり、小規模な金の採掘現場からが３７％と最も多く、次いで、発電などで使う石炭の燃焼で２４％などとなっています。途上国の金の採掘現場では、砂金と水銀を混ぜて火であぶり、水銀を蒸発させて金を抽出する作業が行われていて、作業員が水銀を含んだ蒸気を吸い込んだり、水銀が周辺に排出されたりしていて、健康被害や環境汚染が懸念されています。

輸出国・日本の課題

水俣病を経験した日本は、国内での水銀の使用は大幅に減らしましたが、使用済みの蛍光灯などに含まれる水銀をリサイクルして、いまも年間１００トン前後、アジアやヨーロッパなどに輸出しています。このため、今後、条約の批准によって水銀の輸出が規制されれば、国内で余る水銀をどのように長期間保管したり処分をしたりしていくのかも課題となっています。アメリカでは、水銀を液体の状態で屋内の施設で保管していますが、専門家は地震など自然災害の多い日本では安全管理上、適切ではないと指摘しています。現在は、水銀を固形化する技術の開発も進められていますが、実用化には時間がかかる見通しで、保管や処分にかかる費用を誰が負担するかも課題となります。熊本学園大学の中地重晴教授は、「日本は水銀をリサイクルする仕組みができているが、輸出する先がないのであれば日本の中で保管をしなければならない。地震国であり、なかなか適地がないかもしれないが、なんらかの形で長期保管するような方法を検討して、システムとして作ることが必要だ」と話しています。

(NHK New Web) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20130119/k10014916191000.html

Toxic heavy metals found in whales – Test results discussed at international whaling conference

kiki — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:53:33 +0000

Toxic heavy metals found in whales

updated 6/24/2010 2:58:36 PM ET

AGADIR, Morocco — American scientists who spent five years shooting nearly 1,000 sperm whales with tissue-sampling darts discovered stunningly high levels of toxic heavy metals in the animals, according to a report obtained Thursday.

The levels of cadmium, aluminum, chromium, lead, silver, mercury and titanium together are the highest ever found in marine mammals, the scientists say, warning that the health of both ocean life and the people who consume seafood could be at risk.

Analysis of cells from the sperm whales showed pollution is reaching the farthest corners of the oceans, from deep in the polar region to “the middle of nowhere” in the equatorial regions, said biologist Roger Payne, founder and president of Ocean Alliance that conducted the research.

“The entire ocean life is just loaded with a series of contaminants, most of which have been released by human beings,” Payne said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting. “These contaminants, I think, are threatening the human food supply.

They certainly are threatening the whales and the other animals that live in the ocean,” he said. Ultimately, he said, they could contaminate fish that are a primary source of animal protein for 1 billion people. “You could make a fairly tight argument to say that it is the single greatest health threat that has ever faced the human species. I suspect this will shorten lives, if it turns out that this is what’s going on,” he said.

‘Right on target,’ U.S. delegate says

U.S. Whaling Commissioner Monica Medina informed the 88 member nations of the whaling commission of the report and urged the commission to conduct further research.

“This provides new and very important information about the hazards and the problem of these sorts of contaminants in the ocean, both for the whales and their habitat,” Medina told the audience of hundreds of government officials, marine scientists and environmentalists.

The report “is right on target” for raising issues critical to humans as well as whales, Medina told The Associated Press. “We need to know much more about these problems.” Payne, 75, is best known for his 1968 discovery and recordings of songs by humpback whales, and for finding that some whale species can communicate with each other over long distances. The 93-foot sail-and-motor ketch “Odyssey” set out in March 2000 from San Diego, California, to document the oceans’ health by taking tissue samples from the free-ranging sperm whale, which venture from the poles to the tropics. Like humans, they stand at the top of the marine food chain.

By August 2005 it had collected pencil-eraser sized samples from 955 whales using a dart gun that barely made the animal flinch. The samples were sent for analysis to marine toxicologist John Wise at the University of Southern Maine.

DNA was compared to ensure the animals were not tested more than once. The original objective of the voyage was to measure chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants, and the study of metals was an afterthought. The researchers were stunned with the results. “That’s where the shocking, sort of draw-dropping concentrations exist,” Payne said.

Though it was impossible to know where the whales had been, Payne said the contamination was embedded in blubber formed in the frigid polar regions, indicating that the animals had ingested the metals far from where they were emitted. “When you’re working with a synthetic chemical which never existed in nature before and you find it in a whale which came from the arctic or Antarctic, it tells you that was made by people and it got into the whale,” he said.

Chromium ‘biggest surprise’

How that happened is unclear, but the contaminants likely were carried by wind or ocean currents. “The biggest surprise was chromium,” Payne said. “That’s an absolute shocker. Nobody was even looking for it.” Chromium, a corrosion-resistent material, is used in stainless steel, paints, dyes and the tanning of leather which can cause lung cancer in people who work in industries where it is commonly used.

Wise applied chromium to healthy whale cells in the laboratory to study the effect. He found that the concentration of chromium found in whales was several times higher than the level required to kill healthy cells in a Petri dish, Payne said. Another surprise was aluminum, used in packaging, cooking pots and water treatment, although its effects are unknown. Payne said whales absorb the contaminants and passed them on to the next generation when a female nurses her calf. “What she’s actually doing is dumping her lifetime accumulation of that fat-soluble stuff into her baby,” he said, and each generation passes on more to the next.

The consequences could be horrific for both whale and man, he said. “I don’t see any future for whale species except extinction. This not on anybody’s radar, no government’s radar anywhere, and I think it should be.”

(English) High radiation detected in fish off Fukushima

kiki — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:09:30 +0000

Radiation 258 times legal limit found in fish off Fukushima

August 22, 2012

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Fish containing 258 times the legal limit of radioactive cesium have been found in waters off the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said on Aug. 21.

The reading for two rock trout, caught about 20 kilometers to the north of the plant, showed 25,800 becquerels per kilogram, the highest yet detected in surveys conducted after last year’s nuclear accident.

Consuming 200 grams of the fish would amount to an internal radiation exposure of 0.08 millisievert for a human. The annual safety limit for radiation exposure from food products is 1 millisievert per person.

Fishermen currently do not fish in the waters in question, however, and no rock trout from the area have been distributed to the market.

Tetsu Nozaki, who heads the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, expressed concern about the finding.

“The reading was way beyond the levels recorded before,” he said. “It is worrying.”

The finding came after the federation resumed catches of some octopus and shellfish in waters off Soma, in the northern part of the prefecture, between June and early August on a trial basis. Those fish were distributed to markets, including Tokyo.

Nozaki said the federation will make a formal request for TEPCO to find out why such high levels of contamination were detected in the rock trout.

“We operate on the assumption that no additional contaminated water was leaked into the sea from the plant,” he said.

TEPCO officials said there could be so-called “hot spots” at the bottom of the sea where cesium is concentrated because rock trout usually live near the seabed. The company plans to study cesium levels of the crabs and the shrimp that rock trout feed on.

In a survey conducted in April last year, 14,400 becquerels per kilogram was detected for sand eel caught off the coast of the prefecture.

In March, landlocked salmon in the Niidagawa river near Iitate, a village to the northwest of the plant, measured 18,700 becquerels per kilogram.

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

東日本太平洋における水産物の出荷規制・操業自粛等の状況について　水産庁発表

kiki — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:02:05 +0000

東日本太平洋における出荷規制、操業自粛等の状況を図示しています。

放射性物質検査の結果、基準値を超える値が検出された場合、周辺での調査を強化し、他の地点で基準値超えが検出されない場合は操業自粛等の自主的対応、他地点でも基準値超えが検出された場合には原子力災害対策本部長による出荷制限指示等が行われます。

その後の検査の結果、直近1カ月以内の検査結果が全て基準値を安定的に下回った場合に、出荷制限等の措置が解除されます。

http://www.jfa.maff.go.jp/j/kakou/hyouzi/kisei_kekka.html

太平洋海域のマダラ出荷自粛

kiki — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:00:00 +0000

県は9日、八戸港で7日に水揚げされ、盛岡市中央卸売市場に出荷されたマダラから、同市場の自主検査で国の新基準値（食品1キログラム当たり100ベクレル）を超える1キログラム当たり132.7ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。マダラは6日に本県太平洋海域で漁獲されたという。県は太平洋沿岸の17漁協や市場開設者に、本県太平洋海域で漁獲し、7日以降に水揚げしたマダラの出荷自粛を要請した。放射性物質の基準値超過に伴う本県でのマダラ出荷自粛は、6月19日～7月25日に続き2度目。

県や盛岡市などによると、基準値を超えたのは八戸市の仲買業者が8日午後、盛岡市の市場に出荷したマダラの切り身（5～7.7キログラム入り22ケース）のうちの1検体。9日、同市場が抜き打ちで行っている簡易検査で50ベクレルを超えたため、精密検査をしたところ、132.7ベクレル検出された。

22ケースは既に仲卸業者や小売店に販売されており、同市場が自主回収している。県は7～9日に本県太平洋沿岸の漁協が水揚げしたマダラ約5.5トンを自主回収している。

県は7月25日に出荷自粛を解除して以降、週1回、検体を2カ所から採取して検査を実施。検査日の販売や入札は検査結果判明まで控えるよう漁業者側に要請するなど、体制強化に努めてきた。

宝多森夫水産局長は他県の流通現場で発覚したことにショックを隠せない様子で「前回（国の出荷規制解除のマニュアルに基づき）自粛を解除した判断は間違っていないと考えるが、本県の農林水産物全体の信頼を損なうことは絶対避けなければならない。当面、マダラは（基準値を超える）危険性が高いと認識せざるを得ず、解除の判断は前回以上に慎重に行う必要がある」と述べた。

県食の安全・安心推進課は今後、検査回数を増やすことなどを検討するとしている。相馬久子課長は「一匹ずつ全て検査するのは現実的でない。県の検査のほか、流通や小売りなどさまざまな段階の検査で補完し合い、食の安全を守っていくしかない」と話した。

東奥日報
http://www.toonippo.co.jp/news_too/nto2012/20120809234443.asp?fsn=eb33f76037153e93cde084f7e7644d6f

捕鯨の太地、小学生に水銀影響調査

kiki — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:25:00 +0000

　捕鯨が行われている太地町の小学生を対象にした国立水俣病総合研究センターによる水銀調査が６日から、同町多目的センターで始まった。これまでに実施した大人を対象とした調査では、水銀中毒の疑いは出ていないが、調査を希望した太地小の１、２、３年生４８人を、１週間かけて調査する。検査結果が出るまでには、２、３年かかるという。

　町の要請を受け、同研究センターが東北大や大阪市立大などの協力を得て実施。自然界の水銀を摂取しているクジラや魚類などを多量に食べると、発達障害を引き起こすといった指摘があることから、１０項目について調査を行う。

　調査には、各大学から専門の教授（医師）３人が参加。児童らは知能指数のほか、パソコン上の星の動きを目で追うなど自律神経に異常が見られるかどうかについての検査を受けた。また、さい帯血を調べるため、へその緒の提出も求めた。

　同研究センターの阿部重一所長は「子どもを対象にした本格的調査は初めて。大人についての調査で異常は見あたらず、子どもも問題はないと予想している」と話している。

（2012年8月7日読売新聞）
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/wakayama/news/20120806-OYT8T01355.htm

東日本大震災:新潟・静岡沖でセシウムを検出　福島の事故由来

kiki — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:22:27 +0000

毎日新聞　2012年08月04日　東京朝刊

　原子力関連施設が近くにある新潟、静岡、岩手各県沖の海水や魚から、東京電力福島第１原発事故由来とみられる微量の放射性セシウムが検出されたと、文部科学省が３日発表した。同原発のある太平洋側ではない日本海側で検出されたことから、大気中に放出された放射性物質が河川や降雨で流入したとみられる。

　文科省は、「体内に取りこんだとしても健康影響のないレベル」としている。

　調査は、全国の原発と青森県の核燃料関連施設の周辺海域で毎年実施している。

　それによると、中部電力浜岡原発のある静岡県の御前崎沖で、昨年５月に海水１リットル当たり９・１ミリベクレル、同１２月にカレイの一種から１キロ当たり２・０ベクレルが検出された。また、東電柏崎刈羽原発のある新潟県の佐渡島南東沖では、昨年５月に乾燥した海底土１キロ当たり３１ベクレル検出された。

　青森県の核燃料関連施設の周辺調査地になっている岩手県山田町沖では、同５月に海水１リットル当たり０・７ベクレルだった。【野田武】

Fukushima fish still hard to stomach

kiki — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:25:08 +0000

Updated 26 June 2012, 8:30 AEST

Japanese fishermen are facing a struggle for their livelihoods.

Damage to Fukushima nuclear plant caused contamination of surrounding seas, and is now threatening the fishing industry. (Credit: AFP)

An ABC report shows that many fish caught in the oceans around Fukushima contain dangerous levels of radioactive material. Damage to the nuclear plant by the Japanese tsunami of March 2011 caused the greatest single contamination of the ocean in history. While boats still go out to sea, their catches are withheld from sale and the fish is sent for analysis. “Of course I am angry with the nuclear plant operator Tepco,” Fukushima fisherman Akira Kaya told the ABC. “It’s because I am a fisherman, and I’ve lost all my income.” Fishing cooperative spokesman Takashi Niitsuma says in samples of fish caught 40 kilometres from the nuclear plant, just under a third have been above the contamination safety level. Last month, 15 bluefin tuna caught off the coast of San Diego in the United States were found to contain low levels of radioactive caesium 134 and 137. Mr Kaya says he thinks it is impossible for Fukushima’s fishing industry to recover in his lifetime. “Even if we do get back on our feet, who’s going to buy our fish?” http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-06-25/fukushima-fish-still-hard-to-stomach/967258

福島県沖でプルトニウムを発見

kiki — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:12:03 +0000

福島県沖でとれた魚介類からプルトニウムが見つかっています。

厚生労働科学研究費補助金による測定結果

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/2r98520000023p4a-att/2r98520000023pas.pdf