aCe es Fa
Files
May 31, 1960
a
I. &. dallen, Aquatic Biologist, Environmental
Sciences Branch, Division of Biology & Medicine
RADIOACTIVITY IN SALMON
SYMBOL: SMES:TEW
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
Br. Yoshio Hiyama of the University of Tokyo and the Japan
Atomic Energy authority called and asked if I could ueet
him dewntown to discuss a problem he did not wish to write
about or talk about over the telephone.
I went down om Memorial Day and he told me that they had
a Japee-wide progras fer collection of various food samples
for radioactivity.
One such sample was 12 saluoe taken from
a comuexcial fishing vessel is the Japan ses. Aithough the
stated place ef collection was off of South Korea, Dr. Hiyama
said that their fishing vessels sometines fished in the area
which was restricted by the Russiaus and north of the etated
lecation.
The twelve salmon were measured by their gross beta counter
ami found to contain ‘much’ sore radioactivity than eny other
food item he had ever measured, inciuding the tuna following
“Mike’ shot in 1954. The species of salmon is one that spends
a xrelatively short time et sea and its migration pattern is
well cnown from tagging. We believes chat the specimens must
have come down a Russian river and become contaninated by
excessive radioactivity from some wmikeown Russian source. The
activity was mainly from short lived fectopes aad as yet they
were unidentified. Mis cheaists are analyzing the asked saxples
for specific isotopes at present.
He was very cemcerned that so official or published information
be given out since it might reselt fim tremendous ioss of business
by salmon industries similar to the tuma scare in 1954. fhe
actual levels of radioactivity were net directly dangerous when
averaged out as a ‘population’ dese.
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