© Kyodo News/APThis aerial photo shows Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Nov. 22, 2016.
Comment: Atmospheric radiation from Fukushima reached the west coast of the United States within a few days back in 2011 and ocean radiation in 2014
A group of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the first time found traces of Cesium-134 , an element that serves as a "fingerprint" indicating the presence of radiation from the Fukushima incident, in seawater samples taken off the shores of Oregon in January and February.
But there is no reason to worry, say researchers, who emphasize that the levels are very low and pose little risk to human health - swimming in the water or eating seafood shouldn't be a concern.
"To put it in context, if you were to swim everyday for six hours a day in those waters for a year, that additional radiation from the addressed cesium from Japan ... is 1,000 times smaller than one dental x-ray," Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at Woods Hole told USA Today.
Research that tracks how the radiation plume travels, however, is especially significant at a time when nuclear energy is increasingly being considered as a zero-carbon alternative to fossil fuels for energy production. With the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear disasters still fresh in recent memory and authorities still working to containing the contamination from these nuclear accidents, critics of nuclear energy have been reluctant to dismiss safety concerns of nuclear power. The latest findings will help the world understand more fully the implications of relying on nuclear energy.
Comment: The author is downplaying the effects of radiation on humans and the environment. To take some steps to prepare yourself see: