‘Melting’ Starfish Along West Coast Prompts Fukushima Fears
Oct 30, 2013 | Story Leak | Mikael Thalen
Scientists are attempting to find out why one species of starfish is
literally melting in the waters off of Washington state and Canada.
Biologists in Seattle took to the Puget Sound waters last weekend to
collect sick and healthy sunflower starfish for testing. Several labs
including one at Cornell University will examine and compare samples
with Canadian specimens already being analyzed.
“We’ve got some sea stars that look like they’re melting on the bottom,” Seattle Aquarium biologists Jeff Christiansen said.
Whether the cause is environmental or disease related is currently
unknown, but the number of melting starfish increases drastically with
each passing day.
“At this time, we don’t have a good idea of what’s causing it, so
we’re going to look for everything,” Christiansen said. “There are a lot
of melting sea stars out there, more than even a couple days ago.”
According to Veterinarian Lesanna Lahner, the starfish specie’s
condition is rapidly deteriorating, with more than half displaying the
same disturbing symptoms.
“It’s concerning to hear in a short time period we’re seeing 60% of this species diseased in this area,” Lahner said.
Strangely, the symptoms have only been seen in certain areas of
Washington’s Puget Sound and Canadian waters. While the verdict is still
unknown, many are pointing fingers to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power
plant, which has continued to leak over 300 tons of highly radioactive water into the ocean every day.
As reported by investigative journalist Michael Snyder,
massive evidence of Fukushima’s effect on the West Coast continues to
be evident despite the silence from most most western media.
Earlier this month, Canadian authorities found massively high radiation levels in sea bass, with one fish showing 1,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium.
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