Like a lot of folks, we've been seeing the reports out of Argentina that locals have caught a 3-eyed fish (leading to inevitable Simpsons comparison) in a lake adjacent to the Embalse nuclear power plant.
Here are just a couple of thoughts before the shots get mainstream media pickup:
Here are just a couple of thoughts before the shots get mainstream media pickup:
- While the photos in question might be interesting to those who get their science from a prime time cartoon, one would hope they would be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.
- If the photos are real, we need to keep in mind that while seeing examples of mutation can be unsettling, they're not uncommon and occur naturally all the time.
- Drawing a connection between this fish and the power plant is more than a bit of a stretch. During normal operations, nuclear power plants are a source of clean and reliable, carbon free power. As even a source like Scientific American has noted, coal plants actually emit more radioactivity than nuclear power plants.
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http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2002/09/26/ciencia/1033059715.html
Four days later they recognized it was a deliverated lie...
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2002/09/27/ciencia/1033144110.html