Fukushima radiation scare in Pacific pales compared to acidification

A plume of radioactive contamination from the damaged Fukushima Nuclear plant in Japan has reached the coast of North America earlier than expected. But while concerns for the plume are making headlines, a far more serious effect of human activity is already having dire consequences for West Coast fisheries. Last August, about 250 tonnes of contaminated water - that had been sprayed onto the damaged reactors to keep them cool - leaked out of storage tanks into the ocean. This added to the contamination from the original disaster, when the plant was damaged by a tsunami in 2011, and from ground water that has flowed through the site since.