Washington fish tested for tsunami-related radiation

Do salmon and steelhead returning to Washington rivers come with a dose of radiation from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant? Washington State Department of Health officials don't think so, but they're testing fish anyway.

LINK (via:King 5)

Comments

[RiverRunsBetween]

"...until public concern abates."

What a fundamentally terrible parameter with which to determine whether or not toxic levels should be monitored. Public concern more often than not is related to publicized results of testing or monitoring. Ergo, less monitoring = less public concern= cessation of monitoring=inability of public to have concern= zero public concern=zero monitoring of potentially significant and or detrimental health hazards. This is bad, bad, bad scientific policy my friends. Scientific discourse, especially that which directly impacts the health and safety of the environment and the people who live within it, should not be dependent on the general public's passing concern about the true nature of the issue at hand.