Scientists and researchers found radioactive contamination carried by a bluefin tuna that was caught in US waters. According to reports, more about the bluefin tuna carried radioactive contamination leaked from Japan’s nuclear plants. The levels of radioactive chemicals found were 10 times higher than the amount measured in tuna off the coast of California in previous years. Previously, website like this smaller fish and plankton were found with elevated levels of radiation in Japanese waters after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima Nuclear reactors, buy however scientists did not expect the nuclear fallout to linger in big fish. According to scientists, big fish can metabolize and shed radioactive substances unlike smaller fish. During the research, scientist found that Fukushima was the source of this contamination. They found that blue fin tuna absorbed radioactive chemicals from swimming in contaminated waters and feeding on contaminated prey. They also found that even though they shed some of the radiation through metabolism they weren’t able to completely flush out all the contamination from their system. Researchers and scientists are planning to conduct another study to find out how radioactivity affects tuna populations this summer. Blue fin tuna are prized in Japan and its meat is popularly used in sushi.
