2 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014 EDITOR BILL EVERITT Cws alll EDRICK DUDANG photo Fish caught on the west coast of Canada are still safe to eat according to a nuclear safety expert at University of British Columbia Fukushima fear unfounded Radiation from the earth ts still much higher than from the disaster By EDRICK DUDANG arch 11 marked the third an- niversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and the resulting meltdown at Ja- pan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. But while radiation from the plant spreads to Canada, scientists say the risk to Ca- nadians is very low. According to Anne Trudel, nuclear safety expert at UBC’s TRIUMF lab, the radiation from Fukushima in the air poses no threat to British Columbians because it has “dispersed” greatly in the atmosphere. This process makes the radiation less concentrated thus making it harmless to residents in the West, Trudel said. TRIUMF is Canada’s national labora- tory for particle and nuclear physics. It’s headquartered on the south cam- pus of UBC. Trudel said that fish do have radia- tion from Fukushima, but it poses no health risk because it is so diluted. The amount of radiation in fish is much higher from the earth than from Fuku- shima, she said. Trudel, citing a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, said that scientists discovered that the Pacific bluefin tuna, which migrates from Japan to North America, contains 0.0009mSv of radiation. Health Canada states that Canadians receive approxi- mately 2mSv to 4mSv annually from natural background radiation. While any additional radiation is harmful, Trudel said that radiation from Fuku- shima is too low to be a significant risk. She added that the human body is exposed to radiation every day and said Vancouverites should not be wor- ried about the limited radiation from Japan. “We eat fish and we get a little bit of radioactivity,” she said. “We consume radioactivity when we eat bananas and when we eat avocados. [There are] quite a few foods that have naturally occurring radioactivity.” While British Columbians appear safe from the fallout, Japan is still re- covering. Langara biology student Akio Suzu- ki has an uncle who lived in Fukushima province. He said his uncle had to evac- uate to Tokyo after his house was de- stroyed. ANNE TRUDEL UBC TRIUMF lab nuclear safety expert Langara supports employees Multi-phase program set up to encourage healthy lifestyle choices in faculty and the student body By LAUREN COLLINS tion committee is holding its third initiative for healthy eating among staff from now until April] 11. For the next four weeks, the year-old committee is partnering with the Cana- dian Cancer Society’s WellnessFits program to promote healthy eating with its ‘Food for Thought’ campaign. WellnessFits aims to help employees to achieve healthy lifestyles. Melia Goertzen, the administrative coordinator for the dean of student ser- vices, and Kristen Wilson, the adminis- trative coordinator in human resourc- es, have been co-chairing the committee since August 2013. “Langara has been supporting the well-being of our employees for many years,” Goertzen said in an email. This past summer, the committee of- fered a six-week physical fitness chal- lenge and in the fall, there was a four- week healthy minds challenge. “T do believe that we have made steps in enhancing the overall aware- ness of well-being amongst our staff members,” Wilson said in an email. For this challenge, Week 1 is about eating more fruits and vegetables; Week 2 is about choosing high-fibre foods; Week 3 is about dairy and dairy alternatives; Week 4 is about proteins; Week 5 is about rethinking your drink; and Week 6 is about limiting processed foods. Cafeteria food provider Chartwells is working with the committee to pro- mote healthier options. “T don’t think many folks are aware of the nutritional choices available. People just think of burgers and fries, but Chartwells has a ‘Balanced Choices Board’ display next to the salad station that helps staff and students alike make healthy food choices,” Goertzen said. The board shows healthy foods to try such as avocados and yogurt, and which fats are good for you. “We've created signs for [Chart- wells] to place around their areas, and they’re making menus that coincide with each week’s focus,” Wilson said. Li College’s wellness promo- Vancouver District Science Fair: another successful year This year’s By MADELYN FORSYTH took over the Langara gym March 7 as students from grades seven to 12 competed for a spot at regionals. Te: Vancouver District Science Fair fair saw Langara has facilitated the event for . two consecutive years and coordinator some in Jeanna Yu couldn’t be happier with the teresting way things went this year. . “We’re really grateful that Langara’s Proj ects on hosting it, they have provided us lots of crucially support,” Yu said. . Yu coordinated the fair for the first imp ortant time this year and while there have topics such been a few hiccups, the six-person com- mittee helped her, she said. ash Ow to More than 200 students from 18 deal with schools attended for a chance to prog- ; ress to the Greater Vancouver Region- our dying al Science Fair. New and returning bee popula- competitors took part and emotions tions were either running high or not at all. Marko Miletic, 16, from Eric Hamber Secondary School, competed last year with his Tesla coil model earning him a trip to regionals. This year he estab- lished a possible solution for problems related to pollination with his robotic bee. “It’s likely that in two years there will be no wild bees left; most of them will be in captivity or dead,” claimed Miletic. “So this project is aiming to of- fer a solution.” However, Miletic had reservations about his project this year. “I feel less prepared than last year but it’s a good idea and [judges] like these environ- mental projects.” Judges for the district event are em- ployees from local companies and in- dustry labs plus university students. Returning judge Kimberly Gulevich, an environmental engineering student at UBC, participated in science fairs in her early years and always likes to see what students bring to the table. She said she looks for passion in projects. “I think that’s a big part of be- ing able to go forward,” Gulevich said, adding that if students do the project by themselves is a factor. MADELYN FORSYTH photo Nicole Eastman in front of her project, calling it a “last minute effort”