Fukushima Nuclear Wave Hits West Coast of America

North American scientists have been tracking the 'Fukushima Plume' due to hit the west coast of America within the next few months. 

So far, only minute traces of pollution have been found in the water, but this is set to increase hugely. 

Don't worry, though, because scientists stress that the amount will be well within the safety limits. 

Since the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan, scientists from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography have been sampling water just off Vancouver.  Although the radiation is extremely low, it has allowed scientists to somewhat accurately forecast the probable outcome of the plume.

"These levels will still be well below maximum permissible concentrations in drinking water in Canada for the radiation caesium, so it's not an environmental or human-health radiological threat," said Bedford's Dr. John Smith.

Members of the public are also being asked to gather samples of water from California up to Washington State, Alaska, and Hawaii. 

The project is being funded privately, because no federal agency has picked it up. 

Dr. Smith worries about how much the agencies are concerned with monitoring.

"It's interesting; if this was of greater health concern, we'd be very worried about these factors of ten differences in the radiation. To my mind, this is not really acceptable."