Concerns continue to flourish over the fracking wastewater that is ready to be released into the Bay of Fundy on April 30th, 2015 subject to an appeal first. Amid the concerns, is the mixing of the toxins into what could already be considered an already polluted bay.
In a report published by the Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) titled, Protecting the Bay of Fundy from Pollution from Land-Based Activities, written 2010-2011, it says in section 1.1.1:
“The Bay of Fundy and its watersheds have been, and are being, exposed to a myriad of synthetic chemicals and chemical mixtures. Primary sources have been the forest spraying programs; various industries, heavy (refineries) and light (food processing); the salmon aquaculture industry; municipal waste water plants, and raw sewage discharges; urban storm water runoff; air pollution, including long-range transport of acid rain and contaminants such as mercury; ground vehicle and aircraft emissions; leaks from transformers; operational shipping discharges and spills; litter; and others. Some of the chemicals are synthetic, persistent, and bioaccumulative and still have a signature on the watersheds and bay (e.g. DDT and its residues, PCBs, organotins), while others are natural but entering the system in above natural concentrations (e.g. mercury, lead, cadmium, copper). There are many concerns about the fate and effects of these chemicals on human health (largely through seafood safety) and natural ecosystems of the bay and its watersheds…”
Adding the fracking wastewater to it certainly won’t improve the quality of what is quickly becoming a devastated ecosystem. The NORMs (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) may be supplemented by radioactive elements that already exist in the water. I say … may…. because it hasn’t been proven to be true just yet.
The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in New Brunswick has leaked chemicals into the bay a few times, but the authorities claim there hasn’t been any damage done. Still we know some radioactive chemicals don’t decay as quickly as others like the Radium-226 in fracking wastewater that has a shelf life of 1,600 years. We understand this radioactive element can bioacummulate in fish and also in the bones in our bodies when we eat them. Eighty percent of it will be extracted through our bodies, but the other 20% binds with the bones in our bodies, and makes us that more susceptible to cancer and other diseases.
The radiation poisoning can be detected by tests by your doctor. Interesting to note that some radiation can be measured with a geiger counter too. A lot of the Dulse we eat in Canada has been harvested from the Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, although there are a lot of local people who like to pick their own, here in Nova Scotia. The season for harvesting Dulse is from about June 1st to November 1st. It can then be held and sold through the winter and spring.
In an article online titled Gov’t: Radioactive iodine detected in 6 seaweed samples by South Korea — Concerns over Fukushima contamination after Tepco admits plant is leaking into ocean we can scroll down past the article a view the comments. A couple of these gentleman tested their Dulse for radioactivity using a gieger counter and were alarmed at the results. One of them has this to say:
“How crazy the timing of this headline. I’ve been waiting since yesterday to share something which I discovered only yesterday! I have some dulse powder from an online store and also a PRM-9000. I didn’t buy this Geiger to test food samples, but my curiosity had me scanning everything in my house, from handpainted ceramic nicknacks to toilets and sinks, and floor tiles. I figured why not test something that comes from the marine environment. I went over to my glass jar of Canadian dulse which was purchased earlier this year, and I got no click activity. I opened the glass lid and wow! With a background reading of 21 CPM, a sample of this dulse on a non-radioactive plate read as high as 260 CPM, something I haven’t seen this Geiger demonstrate yet. To my surprise, the 0.5mR/hr alarm I had set went off as the sample went over 200 CPM. I wanted to see if these were alpha particles, so I put the sample in a 2-mil ziplock bag and tested again. I was still getting up to around 238 CPM. One sheet of 20lb. copy paper between the bagged sample and the Geiger-Mueller tube still showed up to 222 CPM. After ten sheets of paper I was getting around 146 CPM. It took 36 total sheets to fully block the readings and get back down to background level. If I test a bagged sample and put my hand between it and the tube, I get no activity, so these aren’t gamma particles; they are some alpha and mostly beta.
I’d like to know if this seems to be too “hot”?”
Since Fukushima contamination is known to be washing onto the west coast, one could assume that this isn’t likely the case on the east coast. The probability of contamination could likely be a result of the power plant leaks, which can make one speculate as to the possible contamination washing in with the tidal currents to our section of the bay in Nova Scotia. You can click here to read the article and scroll down to read the comments.
The article was posted a couple of years ago, but knowing the that the shelf-life of radioactive properties can be extended into hundreds of years, it isn’t a comforting thought. Especially when you consider Nova Scotia may add to these already existing contaminants with fracking wastewater. Perhaps we’re safe from this existing radioactivity? After-all, no one has confirmed any excess radioactivity in our bay… have they?
There hasn’t been any official confirmation to my knowledge but then I ran across a student at Dalhousie University who has published a map, for a project, online — who was also wielding a geiger counter. As you can see (below) in the bottom right hand corner, it was just created this year.
Can you take independent results like this seriously? I mean, a couple of guys and a student showing geiger counter readings…. I don’t know. It might be worth investigating further. Adding more radioactive materials to the Bay of Fundy on top of already existing materials certainly isn’t a recipe for a long and healthy life.