It was 5 years ago, following a submarine earthquake and a 15 meter tsunami, that the nuclear reactors at Fukushima, Japan, experienced a serious accident, second only to Tchernobyl. Five years have passed, during which the radioactive contaminants that were released into the ocean followed the currents across the North Pacific.
As reported in The Globe and Mail on February 23, 2016, Dr. Jay Cullen, who is associated with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the University of B.C., the University of Ottawa, UVic, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Health Canada (InFORM : Integrated Fukushima Radionuclide Monitoring Network), said that, while testing of Pacific waters, as well as fish and shellfish, is continuing, radiation levels are low and can not with certainty be attributed to Fukushima.
Dr. Cullen’s remarks confirm what Cortes Island monitoring efforts have shown : no additional radiation levels can be detected above existing background values with the equipment (Gamma Scout) available. Our local waters, fish, shellfish and kelp remain unaffected by the Fukushima disaster.