Inletkeeper testing shows no Fukushima radiation in Cook Inlet

  • By Rashah McChesney
  • Tuesday, November 11, 2014 10:54pm
  • News

A test on Cook Inlet waters turned up no evidence of radiation emissions from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster having made its way into the area.

A crowdsourced funding effort through Cook Inletkeeper raised enough money to fund one test — though the organization is still soliciting donations for further testing at its crowdrise.com funding page — and the organization on Monday announced the results of its test on water sampled in September, north of Yukon Island in Kachemak Bay.

Cook Inletkeeper Executive Director Bob Shavelson said during a June interview that the Fukushima nuclear disaster had stirred up fear and misinformation and the organization had received a lot of calls from Alaskans concerned about Cook Inlet fisheries.

The Japanese reactor was disabled after a major earthquake in 2011, and high radioactive releases were measured during the week following the earthquake, according to the World Nuclear Association. However, the Federal Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for monitoring the nation’s food supply, has yet to find any evidence of radioactive contamination in U.S. food supplies, according to a March update on the organization’s website. In addition, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health and Social Services announced in 2014 that the two organizations’ tests of Alaska’s seafood have shown the product to be safe to consume.

The Cook Inlet water sample was analyzed at the Woods Hole Center for Marine and Environmental Radiation and, according to an Inletkeeper media release, the sample contained very little evidence of radioactive material in the water. What was detected is normal background radiation levels for the Pacific Ocean and is traceable to nuclear weapons testing in the 1960s, according to the release.

On Monday, the Center for Marine and Environmental Radiation announced that it had detected small amounts of radiation from Fukushima about 100 miles west of Eureka, California.

However, the Fukushima-derived radiation levels are below levels expected to present a risk to human or marine life, according to the organization’s announcement and the levels were more than 1,000 times lower than the acceptable limits to drinking water set by the U.S. EPA.

The institute has been conducting sampling throughout the West Coast of the United States and in the Pacific Ocean, the results of which can be found at ourradioactiveocean.org.

If additional funding comes through, Inletkeeper intends to sample again in 2015, according to its release.

Shavelson said the additional testing had more to do with timing and monitoring the water each successive year, than fears that waters situated in other portions of the Cook Inlet could be contaminated.

“I think it’s just prudent to take another look at it,” he said.

Rashah McChesney can be reached at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com

More in News

Erin Thompson (courtesy)
Erin Thompson to serve as regional editor for Alaska community publications

Erin Thompson is expanding her leadership as she takes on editorial oversight… Continue reading

A woman stands with her sign held up during a rally in support of Medicaid and South Peninsula Hospital on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer residents rally in support of South Peninsula Hospital and Medicaid

The community gathered on Wednesday in opposition to health care cuts that threaten rural hospitals.

Hunter Kirby holds up the hatchery king salmon he bagged during the one-day youth fishery on the Ninilchik River on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Mike Booz
Ninilchik River closed to sport fishing

The closure is in effect from June 23 through July 15.

Señor Panchos in Soldotna, Alaska, is closed on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna restaurant owner remains in ICE custody; federal charges dropped

Francisco Rodriguez-Rincon was accused of being in the country illegally and falsely claiming citizenship on a driver’s license application.

Brent Johnson speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough to provide maximum funding for school district

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will receive less money from the state this year than it did last year.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School on Tuesday.
Pools, theaters, libraries in jeopardy as cuts loom

The district issued “notices of non-retention” to all its pool managers, library aides and theater technicians.

A sockeye salmon is pictured in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Fishing slow on Russian River, improving on Kenai

Northern Kenai fishing report for Tuesday, June 17.

Josiah Kelly, right, appears for a superior court arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man accepts plea deal for November shootings

Buildings operated by a local health clinic and an addiction recovery nonprofit were targeted.

Most Read