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1 April 2017 In the Wake of Fukushima: Radiocesium Inventories of Selected North Pacific Fish
Hannah R. Azouz, Henrietta Dulai
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Abstract

Thirteen commonly consumed types of fish caught in the North Pacific and locally available in Hawai‘i were analyzed using gamma spectroscopy to measure Fukushima-derived and historic 134Cs and 137Cs isotopes. All fish samples had detectable 137Cs above 95% confidence intervals. Three out of the thirteen samples had 134Cs, an isotope indicative of Fukushima releases, detected above 95% confidence intervals. The highest 134Cs and 137Cs concentration in the examined species was in ‘ahi tuna, carrying 0.10 ± 0.04 Bq/kg and 0.62 ± 0.05 Bq/kg, respectively. Other samples with 134Cs activities found above their 2-sigma uncertainty were albacore tuna and swordfish. Historic and Fukushima-derived contributions were evaluated, and in several samples the Fukushima-derived radiocesium dominated the total radiocesium inventory with up to 61% contribution. All activities were below derived intervention limits of 1,200 Bq/kg, and the doses to humans from consuming the fish attributable to radiocesium were 0.02–0.2 µ Sv, in comparison to 6–20 µ Sv contributed by the natural 40K present in the same fish.

© 2017 by University of Hawai‘i Press
Hannah R. Azouz and Henrietta Dulai "In the Wake of Fukushima: Radiocesium Inventories of Selected North Pacific Fish," Pacific Science 71(2), 107-115, (1 April 2017). https://doi.org/10.2984/71.2.1
Accepted: 1 October 2016; Published: 1 April 2017
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