Perilous
Times
Japan bans catching of highly radioactive fish off Fukushima
A fish sample taken off Fukushima Monday found 3,900 becquerels
of iodine-131 per kilogram and 14,400 becquerels of caesium per
kilogram, the ministry said.
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) April 20, 2011
Japan on Wednesday formally banned the shipment and consumption of
highly radioactive fish caught off its Fukushima prefecture where
a crippled nuclear power plant has leaked radioactive water into
the sea.
The ban applied to fish , the health ministry said. Fishing fleets
in the area had already refrained from catching the species since
elevated radiation levels were found earlier this month.
Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit and damaged the
plant, forcing dousing operations at its reactors, some
radioactive runoff has leaked and high-level contaminated water
has had to be dumped in the sea.
Officials have said that ocean currents would quickly dilute the
contaminants, radioactive iodine and caesium, and said there was
no wider threat to the marine environment or public health from
eating seafood.
Japan imposed a new limit of 2,000 becquerels per kilogram for
iodine and 500 becquerels per kilogram for caesium in seafood,
after fish caught off Ibaraki prefecture, south of the plant,
showed iodine above this level.
A fish sample taken off Fukushima Monday found 3,900 becquerels of
iodine-131 per kilogram and 14,400 becquerels of caesium per
kilogram, the ministry said.
Local fishermen in Ibaraki have voluntarily refrained from
catching highly radioactive fish species.
"Actually no-one is fishing the highly radioactive fish because of
the heavy disaster damage in Fukushima," said a health ministry
official.
"But the health ministry called for the government to impose an
official ban on it because some people, like fishermen, may
consume some on their own."
Iodine above legal limits has been found in vegetables, dairy
products and mushrooms near the plant, triggering some shipping
bans in Japan and overseas.