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User ID: 13444576 United Kingdom 04/14/2012 07:13 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | 'mystery Illness' in Alaska related to Fukushima accident ? Polar bears in Alaska have been seen with missing patches of fur, and reports say it may be due to a "mystery illness" related to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima power plant in Japan. Nine out of 33 bears studied were found to have alopecia -- loss of fur -- and skin lesions, Sky News reported. "There's a lot we don't know yet, whether we're dealing with something that's different or something that's the same," said Tony DeGange, chief biologist for the US Geological Survey (USGS) Science Centre in Alaska. A similar illness has killed around 60 ringed seals in the region. Unlike the seals, the polar bears otherwise seem healthy and there have been no deaths, he said. Ten of 48 bears checked in 1999 had a similar condition. "We took biopsies in 1999 and couldn't establish a causative agent for the hair loss then. But now we have this unexplained mortality event going on with seals. And they haven't been successful in figuring out what caused the seal deaths," he said. The USGS has been sending polar bear research teams to the area since 1984. They track, sedate and examine the bears to help determine their health and habits. The theory of the Fukushima effect, however, has not been proved, the report said more [ link to hisz.rsoe.hu] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 14406083 United States 04/14/2012 07:15 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Re: 'mystery Illness' in Alaska related to Fukushima accident ? |
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User ID: 13444576 United Kingdom 04/14/2012 07:38 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Re: 'mystery Illness' in Alaska related to Fukushima accident ? |
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User ID: 13444576 United Kingdom 04/15/2012 07:49 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Re: 'mystery Illness' in Alaska related to Fukushima accident ? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 9581681 United States 04/15/2012 08:43 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Re: 'mystery Illness' in Alaska related to Fukushima accident ? Possibly due to the radiation. See this: [ link to enenews.com] The latest ASR computer model of radiation leakage doesn't show much movement towards Alaska though: At the end of the day, they're both just models, and we'll need to see some actual measurements. Weird that they haven't at least identified the mechanism by now (bacterial, viral, radiation, etc.). Perhaps they're withholding info. We know radiation has ended up in the lower 48, so it's not outlandish to think animals would be exposed. Bacterial infections are less likely in salt water. My Guess is radiation. Some useful research would be to find something that possibly binds to the Radioactive isotopes floating our way and makes them sink to the bottom. If they're on the surface, they're much more dangerous. That's one of the things the Corexit type products do with the floating oil (make it sink below the surface). |