Why the Pacific Ocean Might Be Radioactive
In 1903, Marie Curie, her husband Pierre,
and Henri Becquerel were awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physics for their discovery of radioactivity.
At the time, they had no idea how harmful
their experiments with radioactive material
could be.
Exposure to radiation eventually cost Marie
Curie her life.
Since then, we’ve learned just how horrible
the effects of radiation can be, sometimes
through painful, historic lessons.
But have we nonetheless failed to keep the
danger at bay?
This is Unveiled, and today we’re explaining:
Why The Pacific Ocean Might Be Radioactive.
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What exactly is radiation?
Well, some chemical elements, such as Uranium,
are inherently unstable, due to an imbalance
of protons and neutrons.
In order to become stable again, an unstable
atomic nucleus ejects particles in the form
of radiation.
There are elements that do this in small amounts
all around us in the rocks, soil, and our
very own atmosphere.
Fortunately, it’s not enough to cause us
lasting damage.
But in larger doses, or with prolonged exposure,
radiation can be very dangerous.
Some forms of radiation can ignore physical
barriers and endanger large areas, such as
occurred in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986,
when a reactor meltdown spread radiation throughout
the region.
Radiation can knock electrons from our cells
and harm our very DNA.
High doses can cause radiation burns, sterilization,
and cancer.
The higher the dose, the more lethal.
So why would we want anything to do with such
elements?
Well, at the same time, radiation provides
us with a convenient source of energy.
Isotopes like uranium 235 are so unstable
that they continuously release energy and
are perfect for nuclear fission.
Uranium 235 also takes 700 million years to
shed half of its energy - otherwise known
as its “half-life".
Just one pellet of uranium can create the
same amount of energy as one ton of coal or
149 gallons of oil, so it’s easy to see
the advantages.
Nuclear power plants are created to harness
this energy.
Nuclear reactions in their cores are used
to heat water and create steam, which then
spins turbines and generates electricity.
The same process is part of nuclear bombs,
either through nuclear fission, in which an
atom’s nucleus is split, or nuclear fusion,
in which two atomic nuclei are combined.
When a nuclear bomb detonates, 15% of the
energy released is radiation.
But how could any of this radiation reach
our oceans?
Nuclear weapon testing peaked in the 1950s
and 60s, fueled by the Cold War between the
United States and Soviet Union.
This included extensive testing by the US
in the Pacific.
In 1954, US testing of thermonuclear weapons
at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands went
horribly wrong.
“Castle Bravo’s” yield was two and a
half times what scientists expected, and fallout
spread out over the Pacific, causing radiation
sickness in the residents of Rongelap and
Utirik Atolls, and the crew of a Japanese
fishing vessel.
The Pacific was also a favourite testing ground
for the French, ending only after widespread
protests in 1995.
All this testing introduced small but detectable
levels of cesium-137, a radioactive isotope,
into the Pacific Ocean.
These levels got much worse however on March
11, 2011, when Japan was struck with a massive
earthquake and tsunami that killed almost
16,000 people.
These tsunamis also happened to hit the Fukushima
Daiichi Power Plant on the coast.
Unprepared for a tsunami of this caliber,
the power plant suffered a level 7 nuclear
meltdown.
Although the power plant had backup generators,
they were damaged by the tsunami, crippling
the plant’s cooling system.
When unchecked, the temperatures inside the
core can grow extremely hot - so hot that
they begin to melt.
In the case of Fukushima, three of the six
reactors went into meltdown.
When this happened, they leaked radioactive
water into the Pacific Ocean, causing the
levels of cesium-137 to spike dramatically.
There’s a scale called the INES (the International
Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale) used
to communicate the safety and significance
of radiological events to the public.
It ranges from 1-7, one being a minor anomaly
and seven being a major accident.
Experts classified what happened at Fukushima
as a 7 due to the high radioactive releases
over the days that followed.
Some of the radiation is still detectable
all the way across the ocean, off the west
coast of the United States.
Fortunately, the amount present is too small
to pose a health risk.
Swimming in the water every day for an entire
year would still be 1,000 times smaller a
dose than a dental X-ray.
But another concern is the marine life in
the area.
Immediately after the meltdown, around half
of the region’s entire fish supply was deemed
above the government’s seafood radiation
limits.
That number has dropped significantly over
the years, but 1% of the region’s fish remain
too dangerous to eat.
To this day, the food produced in regions
around Fukushima are still being actively
checked for radiation.
Despite the increased amounts of waste and
concerns for safety, there exists no US agency
responsible for measuring the radioactivity
of the ocean.
There’s one to check the food and water,
but not the ocean - a core foundation of much
of the world’s food supply.
Luckily, as far as we know, the Pacific Ocean
isn’t radioactive enough to harm us.
However, the accident could have had drastic
consequences for the environment, as the radioactive
waste deposited into the bottom of the Pacific
Ocean will remain there for decades to come.
Given such disasters, it’s worth asking:
what would the consequences of severe radiation
in the ocean be?
In short, the effects would be catastrophic,
as it would disrupt the entire food chain.
Sure, people would no longer be able to swim
in the water either, but that would be the
least of our worries.
Fish would be the first to feel the effects,
forced to live in the radioactive soup.
Animals that depend on fish to survive would
soon follow.
That would make THEM dangerous to eat in turn.
Around 10% of the world’s population depends
on fisheries for their livelihood, and being
unable to fish would be devastating for many.
Even worse, around 4.3 billion people depend
on fish for 15% of their animal protein intake.
It would take decades, if not centuries, for
the environment to successfully recover.
Luckily, it hasn’t ended up that way so
far, but there are still detectable amounts
of radioactive material in our waters, and
we can’t be completely sure how much of
the environment was really affected by nuclear
bomb testing and the Fukushima power plant
meltdown.
And that’s why the Pacific Ocean Might Be
Radioactive.
What do you think?
Is there anything we missed?
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