Samantha Past
Tabuchi,
Hiroko. “Fish off Japan’s Coast Said to Contain Elevated Levels of
Cesium.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.
As the article discusses,
radioactive cesium has been found in fish caught in the Fukushima area,
however, a dominant significance to these findings, is the connection to an
increased risk of cancer in humans. As Mr. Buesseler states, “The fact that
many fish are just as contaminated today with cesium 134 and cesium 137 as they
were more than one year ago implies that cesium is still being released into
the food chain.” If cesium continues to
be freed into the ocean, resulting in more contaminated fish, more people will
be exposed to such radioactive chemicals.
It is important for further experimentation, and further research to be
conducted to help stop increased contamination, and to help those in Japan who
are directly effected by the radioactive cesium in their food.
Although, this article included a
substantial amount of information regarding the increased contamination of
radioactive cesium, specifically found in fish, the author did not include very
much detail pertaining to the direct effects of cesium on those in Japan, and
she never directly discussed what cesium is.
Throughout the entire article, the author describes increased levels of
cesium detected in fish, however never in the article does she explain exactly
what cesium is, or the direct effects it can have. Upon reading the article,
one can understand cesium must pertain to radioactivity, and would definitely
have negative effects, however, the author does not describe in detail the
negative effects. If she had included more information describing the direct
impact such chemicals, specifically in fish, have had on people in Japan, I
believe it would have enhanced her article and perhaps helped readers to
identify the urgency and importance of what the author was trying to talk about,
regarding this issue.
Maddy Foley 10/29/12
ReplyDeleteAP Biology Comment #4
I read the review of the article “Fish off Japan’s Coast Said to Contain Elevated Levels of Cesium.” The reviewer, Samantha Past, included a few good elements to her review. Firstly, she described the situation very well, helping to give the reader an idea of what is happening. She notes that 36 species of fish caught of the Fukushima coast have been banned to eat due to their high cesium levels, specifically cesium 134 and cesium 137. The fish banned were infected by the run-off into the ocean from Japan’s nuclear disaster last year following the level 9 earthquake. The reviewer also did a good job at describing the implications of these findings on a larger scale. She notes that if cesium is really in the ocean at such high levels it could mean that people have been greatly exposed to these radioactive chemicals already through consumption of these fish, since this discovery is only developing a year after the meltdown. Lastly, Samantha critiqued this article well. After reading it myself, I too would have liked to understand to a greater extent the impact of cesium on humans and think this information could have enhanced the article. While the author does not that this particle could cause an increase in cancer, it would be interesting to know how and why.
I think that Samantha could have addressed a little more in detail the implications this discovery is having on fishing industry. Since many fish have been banned, small scaled industries can only capture and sell species that have cleared government radiation tests, a process that takes time and therefore a negative effect on the fishing industry. This would have provided the reader with a clearer idea of the current effects this is having on the people of Japan. I also think this review could have been improved by further detailing the implications of cesium in sediments on the sea floor. Scientists believe that cesium is settling in the seabed and continually being released into the food chain by bottom-feeding fish. With a half-life of 30 years, cesium could remain in sediments for decades to come. This would have helped the reader to understand the serious long-term implications this could have on marine life and humans.
One thing I found interesting about this review was that these high-radioactive levels are only seemingly being tested now. I would have assumed that the government would have warned against eating fish earlier since about four-fifths of the radioactive run-off from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are now thought to have entered the sea.
Timmy Donohue
ReplyDeleteSamantha’s article review on “Fish Off Japans Coast Said to Contain Elevated Levels of Cesium” was very interesting. Samantha brought up many intriguing ideas throughout her review, and she did so very eloquently. For example, I liked how she included where the source of the cesium came from. By giving the reader a source, it allows them to understand that there is a solid reason behind this epidemic and that it is not just completely random. I also liked how she included how this rise in cesium is affecting the local fishermen, who are losing a lot of money due to the fact that about 40% of their catch, as Samantha stated, was not edible. Finally I thought she did a great job of giving the reader a specific example of a fish with extremely high radiation levels. She illustrated how two fish were caught with almost a kilogram of cesium in their system, which was the highest amount on record. This fact is almost hard to believe, but it provides the reader with a very solid impact of the extent to which this epidemic is destroying sea life.
While Samantha’s review was very good, there were a few things that she could have done better. For example I would have described in detail what cesium is. I would have done so because it would give the reader a better understanding of what is happening to the sealife in Japan. One more thing that I would have included would have been the impact that this rise in radiation level in sealife has had on the citizens of Japan medically. This would have also helped the reader better understand what is going on because though some may know that a rise in an isotope of Cesium causes cancer in humans, to many readers, this is not known. Though there were a few things that I would have changed, the article was still a very well written one.
In Samantha’s article, many interesting points were surfaced. One aspect of the review that I found particularly interesting was when she described the impact that this had on local Japanese fisherman. I found this to be interesting because it is really sad how these local fishermen are not going to be able to make the same profit on their fish as 40% are contaminated with the cesium. Also, this idea also brings up the idea of the controversy over nuclear power as when there is an incident like that of Japan not so long ago, the aftermath can be truly devastating. Hopefully from this epidemic, they will find a safer and more efficient alternative to nuclear power.
Samantha Past’s review of “Fish off Japan’s Coast Said to Contain Elevated Levels of Cesium” from the New York Times did a nice job summarizing the major points discussed in the article. Almost all of the major statistical data discussed in the article were in her review. This was helpful, for it impacts the reader more when they are able to see how devastating cesium infected fish really are. I also agreed with Samantha when she said that the author should have delved deeper into the affects this discovery is having on Japan. Hiroko Tabuchi explained how Fukushima is being affected economically, but she did not mention if anyone has been contaminated with the cesium by eating the sea life. It was mentioned that many fish are banned from being sold, but fishermen are still trying to go out and restart their businesses. If that is the case, there must be a concern that smaller businesses will accidentally sell infected fish, and high cesium levels can lead to cancer. Further more, I liked when Samantha mentioned that further research has to be conducted before scientists are able to tell how the high radioactive levels affect different species of fish. I wish the author had mentioned how the contaminations were affecting the fish that have so far been found, for, based on the article, it appears that they are still functioning normally. Most likely a human that had 250 times the government’s safety limit of cesium would die, so it would be interesting to learn how the fish were handling the radiation.
ReplyDeleteSamantha did a very nice job reviewing this article, but there were a couple of facts she could have added to make it even better. For example, it would have been interesting for her to further explain the nuclear power plant’s meltdown. She touched on the fact that it was this disaster that had caused the radiation problems, but had she further explained its impact on the nation, that might have made the review even more powerful. Also, she could have mentioned the fact that there is still concern that the plant is releasing cesium. Most of the contaminated animals that have been newly found are on the bottom of the ocean. Therefore, researchers guess that it the levels are slowly making there way down to the ocean floor. This means, that most of the element that has been found, was probably already in the environment. There is concern, though, that new levels are being added, so the government wants to build a wall around the power plant that might not be completed until 2014.
I found it interesting to learn that about “…four-fifths of the radioactive substances released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are thought to have entered the sea.” I had not realized that the majority of the contaminated particles were now in the ocean. I had thought that it was still circulating either in the air, or in the towns nearby the plant. It is, therefore, more concerning to hear that it is in the water, for that can ultimately have a greater impact on future generations.