nuclear-news

Under the revised regulations, the upper limit on foods such as meat, vegetables and fish will be set at 100 becquerels per kilogram. The limit will be 50 becquerels per kg for milk and infant food and a maximum of 10 becquerels for drinking water.

At present, the levels are set at 500 becquerels per kg for the majority of foodstuffs and 200 becquerels for milk, dairy produce and water. There is presently no specific figure for infant food.

The new limits set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare are a balancing act between food producers, who have argued they are too stringent and will destroy their businesses, and citizens’ groups that are demanding even tighter controls on the food that is eaten in Japan.

Many consumers — particularly those raising young children — say they are confused by the changing regulations and are being careful about what they purchase……

Didier Champion, crisis manager at IRSN, told reporters on February 29 that Japan must maintain vigilant monitoring of fruit, milk, mushrooms, game and fish.

“There are risks of chronic exposure at low dosage, and without care this can build up over time,” he said.

IRSN estimates that 408 peta-becquerels of radioactive iodine were emitted into the atmosphere after the explosions at the plant, although releases of cesium-137 were of greater concern as the element takes around 30 years to decay to half its level of radioactivity….. The Japanese government is attempting to reassure its trading partners that Japanese food is safe and a number of countries, including Canada and Malaysia, have relaxed controls on imports, although they are still monitoring the situation.