Gov’t reports “big, big decline” in Alaska caribou — “Mortality very high” after Fukushima releases began — “Low survival rate” for calves also in 2011 and 2012 — Official: “Worrisome” how quickly this happened… In truth, we don’t have an answer why (AUDIO)
Published: July 23rd, 2014 at 6:00 pm ET
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Alaska Department of Fish and Game, July 2014: Alaska‘s largest caribou herd, the Western Arctic Herd, numbered about 235,000 animals as of July 2013 […] That’s down from 325,000 caribou estimated in the 2011 census […] The recent census indicates a decline of about 27 percent [actually 27.7%] since 2011. Mortality was very high during 2011-2012 […] In addition to high adult cow mortality during 2011-2012, survival of calves born during 2011 and 2012 was relatively low.
Jim Dau, ADF&G biologist who has worked with the herd for more than 25 years: “The herd size right now, as of 2013, was 235,000 caribou, and that’s down about 27% since 2011 — so, a big, big decline in the last two years.”
Alaska News Miner, May 12, 2014: During 2011-12, there was a high mortality rate for adult cows and a low survival rate for calves […] “I’m often asked, ‘Why the decline?’ In truth, we don’t have data to completely answer that question” [said Dau.]
2011 census data from the ADF&G: [The Western Arctic caribou] numbered about 325,000 animals […] a five percent decline [actually 6.4% — roughly 3% per year] since the last census was completed in July 2009 [348,000 animals], and a continuation of the four to six percent annual decline.
The Arctic Sounder, Dec. 12, 2013: [Dau] added that it’s “worrisome” how quickly mortality rates are changing from year to year. While calf production is up, the calf survival rate is going down, he said. And mortality rates for adults, especially cows, has increased.
Listen to the KNOM broadcast on the decline here
Published: July 23rd, 2014 at 6:00 pm ET
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from 14 locations in the city of Minami Soma contained more than 100 becquerels of cesium per kilogram. This is beyond the government’s safety limit. […] [TEPCO] said it will increase monitoring of the spreading dust. Neither the ministry nor the utility told Minami Soma City officials the work at the plant may have contaminated the crop. City officials say they were greatly startled. They said the ministry should have explained the matter to local authorities much earlier. […] TEPCO is scheduled to conduct a large-scale debris removal work at Number One reactor. For this, it plans to disassemble covers which had been put to prevent the radioactive materials from spreading.
public about the ministry’s findings. […] the ministry concluded that the radioactive substances had been newly released […] The ministry is pointing to Aug. 19, when […] dose rates increased at five measuring points 2.8 to 8.3 km north-northwest […] the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI) estimated that the released particles would reach the city within three hours. […] the utility said it has yet to learn how far the released particles spread. The company said its plans to dismantle the cover on the No. 1 reactor building will be the fastest way to remove wreckage from the site. TEPCO […] acknowledged that the procedure will still lead to the release of a large amount of radioactive substances, and the spread of the substances will depend on the weather and the wind direction.




northern coast, the Meteorological Agency said. If necessary, the agency will issue a tsunami advisory at around 3 a.m. Thursday, or a tsunami warning much earlier. Tsunami are forecast to reach the Pacific coast of Hokkaido around 5 a.m., coastal areas of the Kanto eastern region around 6 a.m. […]