New Zealand muttonbirds are being studied to see if they were affected by radiation from Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant.
Samples are being taken from the birds as part of the research into the effects of radiation from the Fukushima plant, which was severely damaged following the earthquake and tsunamis which hit the country in March.
The research aims to determine the degree to which the mutton bird population was exposed to radiation. Millions of the birds, known as sooty shearwaters, come to this country to breed during the summer months before heading north during the colder southern months.
US Geological Service biologist Josh Adams heads the research and said the chicks’ food would come from sub Antarctic waters and waters off New Zealand. Those areas were probably relatively unaffected by the radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, he said.
Source: tvnz.co.nz
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