Environmental Monitoring Of Chinook Salmon

Fish are less sensitive to radiation than both rats and humans. Current water effluent limits are more than enough to protect the fish, so salmon are not in any danger from any minor release. These procedures can be repeated for other biota in the environment, such as frogs, turtles. From the techniques used to monitor genetic damage in organisms, would be to use the micronucleus assay with the explant procedure if live specimens are obtainable. If live specimens cannot be obtained the apoptosis detection method would be the only method left to use. All of these techniques monitor genetic damage whether or not it is due to a minor radiation release or other possible chemical agents, such as nearby pesticide use. For this reason it is very important to use control animals of known exposures monitor other chemical agents that may be affecting your environment.