Impact of the Fukushima accident on marine biota, five years later

• Published in: Integrated environmental assessment and management Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 654 - 658
• Main Author: Vives i Batlle, Jordi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2016
• Subjects: Aquatic Organisms; Biota; Fukushima; Fukushima Nuclear Accident; Humans; Marine; Marine ecology; Marine environment; Nonhuman biota; Nuclear accidents & safety; Radiation; Radiation Monitoring; Radioactivity; Radionuclides; Water Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis; Water Pollutants, Radioactive - toxicity; Water Pollution, Radioactive - statistics & numerical data; Japan; Marine environment; Nonhuman biota; Fukushima; Radionuclides
• ISSN: 1551-3777; 1551-3793
• DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1825

ABSTRACT In a previous commentary written in 2011 in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident in Japan, I summarized what was then understood about the effects of accidental radioactive discharges to marine life and forecasted into the future how the marine environment would likely be affected. Since that time, several studies have been conducted on the impact of the accident on marine organisms, and radiation doses arising thereof. I developed a dynamic transfer model for studying the bioaccumulation of Fukushima radionuclides in marine biota and assessed the impact and likelihood of effects to marine life. In the present article, I highlight the lessons learned over the past 5 years. I address whether the environmental consequences in the marine environment are as significant as initially feared and, with respect to the current situation, what remains to be investigated as the radioactivity continues to spread in the marine environment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:654–658. © 2016 SETAC. Key Points The importance of dynamic transfer modelling in combination with monitoring to reconstruct the impact of the Fukushima accident on marine biota is now demonstrated. Radionuclide levels in marine biota off Fukushima are highly variable but remain elevated, although this does not indicate significant risks to whole populations. Local hotspots for biota very close to the FDNPS could potentially persist for a long time. The necessary research to understand what this means has not been completed and should not stop now. The contamination of the marine environment near Fukushima remains significant, even if it is below the thresholds for population effects in biota.