Radioactive cesium contamination found in Japan cattle and tea
By arevamirpal::laprimavera
8 July 2011 These cattle were allowed to be sold, as long as they were scrubbed clean of radioactive materials on their skin, thanks to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the same ministry that is pushing to have the Japanese cuisine recognized as UNESCO’s “world intangible cultural heritage”. According to Asahi Shinbun (link below), the Tokyo Metropolitan government tested the remaining 10 meat cows from Minami-Soma City that were processed on July 8. The highest number was 3200 becquerels/kg of cesium, and even the lowest number was 1530 becquerels/kg, more than 3 times the government’s provisional safety limit for cesium in foods. The one that was tested on July 8 had 2300 becquerels/kg radioactive cesium. Asahi Shinbun (7/9/2011) also says:芝浦と場では、農水省の指示で、福島第一原発から２０～３０キロ圏内から出荷された牛でも、他地域の牛と同様、放射性物質についての特別な調査はしていな い。ただし、厚労省からの指示が今回をのぞいてこれまでに５回あり、その際に行った検査ではいずれも基準値を下回っていたという。 Following the instruction from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Metropolitan Shibaura Slaughterhouse doesn’t conduct radiation testing at all, whether the cattle come from the 20-30 kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuke Plant or from other areas. However, there have been 5 instances where the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare instructed them to test for radiation, and in those instances the radioactive materials detected were less than the provisional limit.
Yomiuri Shinbun (7/9/2011) says something more disturbing:
福島県の調査では、４月下旬以後、同区域からは２９２４頭の肉用牛が出荷されたことが判明。
According to the investigation by Fukushima Prefecture, 2924 meat cows have been shipped from the same area since the end of April. […]
Update: 3200 Becquerels/Kg Cesiuim Detected from Beef from Minami-Soma City in Fukushima 
TOKYO (AFP) — More than six times the legal limit of radioactive caesium has been found in beef from Fukushima prefecture, home to Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, an official statement said Saturday. The meat came from one of 11 cows shipped this month to Tokyo from a farmer in Minamisoma city, according to the statement by the Tokyo metropolitan government. The 11 cows all showed high levels of radioactive caesium, ranging from 1,530 to 3,200 becquerel per kilogram, compared with the legal limit of 500 becquerel, the Tokyo statement said. It was the first time excessive levels of radioactive caesium have been found in meat, according to a Tokyo official. “All the meat from the cows is kept in the laboratory and has not entered the market,” a separate statement said. But a Tokyo official said five cows from the same farmer in Minamisoma have already been sold into the Tokyo market on May 30 and June 30, with the metropolitan government trying to track them down. […] The 11 cows were raised and shipped by the farmer just outside of the 20-kilometre (12-mile) no-go zone around the plant, the statement said.
High levels of caesium found in Fukushima beef
By JUDY LAM
9 July 2011 TOKYO – The Tokyo metropolitan government said Saturday that elevated levels of radioactive cesium were detected in a herd of cattle from Fukushima prefecture, marking the first time that radiation has been found in domestic livestock since the start of the nuclear crisis in March. The level of radioactive cesium detected in the group of 11 cattle exceeded Japan’s safety standards by three to six times, a Ministry of Health spokesman said. All cattle originated from the same farm in Minamisouma, which is in close proximity to Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s stricken Daiichi nuclear plant, he said. None of the cattle in question were made available to consumers, he added. According to a representative at Fukushima Prefecture government’s livestock division, the cattle came from the 20-30-kilometer evacuation preparation zone in Fukushima and had gone through and passed the mandatory screening test before shipment. The Fukushima government screening, however, was conducted before slaughtering and therefore only tested for external exposure, while the cesium found this time was on the actual meat after the cattle were processed in Tokyo. “We are absolutely in shock that the internal radiation level was so high, because when we screened them, we got a zero cesium reading on their surfaces,” the representative said. In addition to screening for external radiation, the prefectural government also examined how the cows were raised and what type of food they have been fed before giving the green light for shipment. “They were raised indoors, and ate food and drank water that was deemed safe by current government standards,” he said. Though this is the first time that excessive radioactive cesium was found in meat from Fukushima, radiation testing on the receiving end has been limited since the start of the nuclear accident. According to the spokesman at the Ministry of Health, monitoring on food radiation is done on a random basis before it is made available to consumers. “Far less than 1% of all food (including meat, fresh produce and seafood) coming from Fukushima has been tested,” he said, and there is no plan to change the current monitoring system. […]
Radiation Found in Japanese Cattle
July 08 (NHK) – Radioactive cesium exceeding the government limit was detected in processed tea made in Tochigi City, about 160 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The Tochigi Prefectural Government says 1,810 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected in tea processed from leaves harvested in the city in early July. The level is more than 3 times the provisional government limit. On Thursday, the prefecture requested that tea farmers in the city voluntarily stop shipments of their products. Radioactive cesium has also been detected in other areas in the prefecture. After the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, tea leaves and processed teas contaminated by radioactive substances have been found over wide areas near Tokyo. These include the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and the country’s largest tea production center, Shizuoka.
