Eating seafood in Hawaii is a no brainer; in fact, it’s one of the first thing visitors look for when getting here.
But after the Fukushima nuclear spill in 2011, the looming question continues to be whether it is safe to eat anything that comes from the Pacific. I do not eat seafood but know people who do. Most have avoided eating anything from the sea, while others brush it off as a myth.
Experts have been saying this is more than a myth and that a sea of radioactive chemicals will circle the Pacific. They’ve created models to illustrate this further; the models show how current patterns will push the radioactive materials toward the north Pacific before hitting the west coast and traveling south.
I’ve spent a lot of time researching this topic, and to be quite honest, the graphics scare me. And although I’m not a seafood eater, I am an avid ocean lover. The graphics make me wonder if we should even be surfing? There is no research on what impact radiation will have five, 10 years from now, and I surely do not want to find out.
Some say that the contaminated water will be diluted in the Pacific, so there should be no harm by the time it reaches Hawaii and the West Coast; however, a post from the “Washington Blog” points out a once-secret U.S. government report. The report says that the ocean may not adequately dilute radiation from nuclear accidents, and there could be “pockets and streams of highly-concentrated radiation.” With that said, I would probably avoid eating any seafood from the Pacific all together until we get more information.
