As Japan's power plant in Fukushima continues to leak radioactive fluid, more concerns arise about the local marine life becoming contaminated, NBC News reported.
300 tons of radioactive water has leaked to date and the latest concern is that the leakage might spill into the ocean and poison local fish, some that might caught and made for food.
But given the distance from the plant to the harbor, William Burnett, an oceanographer at Florida State University, said it probably has not reached the ocean yet. He did say it was likely in a matter of time.
"In general, groundwater does flow downhill and if you go downhill, you wind up in a body of water almost anywhere on Earth," he said.
The plant has been incapacitated since the earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011, springing various leaks ever since.
"We have been saying since 2011 there has been a persistent leak at the site," Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who has traveled to Japan several times to measure contamination levels, said. "When we measure the isotopes in the ocean, we can't say if they are coming from the tanks or from the reactor buildings or some cooling water that was used in 2011, but there has been a measurable release of these isotopes since the very beginning."
The level of contamination has decreased since the earthquake, but poisoned fish still poses a threat. According to Buesseler, a chemical known as strontium 90 is becoming prevalent in the water and it is known to be retained in fish bones for an extended period of time.
"Strontium can be retained in fish bones - and our bones if we eat the fish - for a longer period of time and so that becomes a different health hazard of concern," Buesseler said, including the risk of mutations or mortality is low for now. "If we consume seafood that is grown in these contaminated waters, then there is a slight increase in cancer risk."
A recent U.S. study found Bluefin tuna originated in Fukushima and caught off the coast of San Diego to contain levels of radioactivity far below any risk level. Buesseler said this is not concerning, but that the amount of tanks that are likely leaking is far worse.
"I'm not concerned about the people on (the U.S. Pacific) coast," Buesseler said. "I am concerned for Japan with this continued leakage, especially if the isotope character changes and it becomes a strontium problem."
