FUKUSHIMA, Japan --
The Fukushima prefectural government in Japan has announced that
radioactive cesium beyond the provisional regulatory limit was detected
in unmilled rice harvested at five farms in the Onami district of
Fukushima Prefecture.
Radioactive cesium exceeding the limit
of 500 becquerels per kilogram was recently detected in harvested rice
at another farm in the area, fueling concerns among consumers.
This time as much as 1,270 becquerels of radioactive cesium per
kilogram was detected in unmilled rice, the prefecture said Friday. The
rice has not been shipped to the market. Instead, it was stored in
farmers' warehouses or a local agricultural cooperative, or was
distributed to farmers' relatives.
The prefectural government is currently analyzing all the
rice grown by the 154 rice farms in the district, or 4,752 bags
containing 30 kilograms of rice each. It has finished inspecting 864
rice bags from 34 farms so far.
Apart from the first farm
where rice was found to have been contaminated, excess radioactive
cesium has been detected in 103 rice bags from five farms.
Excess cesium was detected in all 24 rice bags from the farm that
produced rice in which radioactive cesium at 1,270 becquerels per
kilogram was found. The minimum level of contamination at that farm was
970 becquerels per kilogram.
Radioactive cesium between 540
and 1,110 becquerels per kilogram was detected from unmilled rice from
another farm, according to the prefectural government.
The
five farms are located from one to 2.5 kilometers (0.62 to 1.55 miles)
from the first farm in question. They have nothing in common with the
first farm topographically, such as using the same freshwater from a
mountain in their rice paddies.
In addition to the Onami
district, the prefectural government is inspecting rice harvested in
Date, which includes some hot spots recommended for evacuation, and in
three other cities - Fukushima, Soma and Iwaki - which include areas
with relatively high levels of radiation.
No comments:
Post a Comment