nuclear-news

The radiation danger in seafoods

even at those low quantities the radioactive elements may pose a danger when concentrated in seafood,…..fish have been known to accumulate as much as 100 times the amount of pollutants in the environment,

Japan Scientists Say Sea Radiation Tests May Miss Seafood Threat, SF Gate,July 26 (Bloomberg) –– Japan’s government has to release more data from ocean radiation tests to accurately assess the contamination threat to seafood, according to a statement by the Oceanographic Society of Japan.

The government should release radiation readings in sea water that are below its minimum measurement level, because even at those low quantities the radioactive elements may pose a danger when concentrated in seafood, the group, which counts 1,860 marine scientists as its members, said yesterday.

“Depending on the species, fish have been known to accumulate as much as 100 times the amount of pollutants in the environment,” Jota Kanda, a professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology specializing in marine environment, said by phone yesterday.

Radiation threats to Japan’s food chain are multiplying as cesium emissions from the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant spread. Aeon Co., Japan’s biggest supermarket chain, said yesterday 4,108 kilograms (9,056 pounds) of beef suspected of being contaminated by radiation was inadvertently put on sale at 174 stores across the country……..

Radiation in food is measured in becquerel, a gauge of the strength of radioactivity in materials such as Iodine-131 and Cesium-137. A becquerel represents one radioactive decay per second, which involves the release of atomic energy that can damage human cells and DNA, with prolonged exposure causing leukemia and other forms of cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association.,,,”The concern is that the contaminants will travel up the food chain reaching greater concentration in higher animals,” Eiji Tanaka, a professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology specializing in marine bioresources, said in an email yesterday.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/26/bloomberg1376-LOX7TH6JTSE901-7N6MCUICSL7JM3J9BJ6VSSP8CK.DTL#ixzz1TLkBmjWe,,

July 28, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, oceans