RADIATION-CONTAMINATED "FUKUSHIMA" FISH

What you are looking at in this photo is a 'murasoi" fish which is like a rockfish. But this is not just any old fish. It is the fish that holds the world's record for radiation contamination.

The fish was caught recently in Japan - near an unloading point north of the No. 1 through No. 4 reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi plant. (Reminder: on March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and huge tsunami devastated the Fukushima region of Japan and set off a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant). The Tokyo Electric Power company (TEPCO) admits that the fish contains 254,000 Becquerel per kilogram of cesium - which amounts to 2,540 times Japan's limit for radiation in seafood.

Alright, it is true that no fishermen operate in this area. And, rockfish are "homebodies" in that they do not travel long distances. But what about radiation in other fish? Almost two years after the Fukushima Daiichi tragedy, is this an issue?

Several reports, based on testing of radiation in various kinds of fish from different parts of the ocean off Japan, argue that contamination of waters and seafood near this area - and, even further away - is an ongoing issue.

Why could this still be a problem, after almost two years? Last October, TEPCO admitted that radiation leaks at the plant had not fully stopped. Some kinds of radiation also hangs around in the water for a while, and fish can swim right through it and take in contaminated seawater through their gills or eat organisms that carry radiation. It then accumulates in their muscle tissue.

But, before you give up eating wild-caught fish, remember that controls do exist in most countries, and any imports from Japan have been under additional scrutiny for radiation.

To your good health,
TSF

AVOIDING RADIATION IN FOOD IN JAPAN

It is now more than 6 months since the tragic earthquake, tsunami and massive damage to the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. Although it is largely out of the international news these days, the difficulties in Japan continue. A major concern for many people is safety of their own and their family's food. How can they make sure it doesn't carry too much radiation, and endanger their health?

Unfortunately - as I predicted in early March (see earlier posts) - radionuclides are indeed turning up in Japan's food at high levels - often many times the safety standards established. Dangerous levels of radiation have now been found in such foods as beef, plums, spinach, bamboo shoots, rice, tea, milk, seaweed and fish. Some of this radiation-contaminated food has come from as far away as 360 kilometers from the nuclear plant.
Yes, authorities in Fukushima and neighboring prefectures are conducting spot checks on a growing number of food products. But clearly, as in any such activity, some is caught and some is missed. It is impossible to check every food item.

Effective controls also depend on cooperation of farmers, and farmers are understandably concerned about how positive findings would affect their livelihoods.

Many consumers are convinced that the government is just not doing enough to keep them safe. Rightly so, mothers of young children, pregnant and lactating women, are particularly concerned. Some strategies people are using themselves to try to avoid the more contaminated food products include:

• Avoiding foods from certain prefectures. But this is not as easy to do as one might assume.
• Joining cooperatives which re-test the food products they sell. But there is a price mark-up to cover the cost of such testing, which excludes people who are not as well off.
• Buying canned or frozen or dried products which were packaged prior to March, 2011.
• Diversification: for instance, rotating the brand of milk they buy so that their risks are reduced from any single one.
• Avoiding certain fresh food items altogether which they feel might be more likely to be contaminated, such as leafy greens, fresh milk.
• Eating imported foods as much as possible.

A few meals of food with high radiation levels are unlikely to hurt most people. But eating such food regularly over a period of time, has been shown by research to increase certain cancer risks as well as lead to other health problems, particularly if you are also being exposed to such contaminants from other sources (such as your water, or the environment). Yes, it is a good idea to be careful.

To your good health,
TSF

HOW DANGEROUS IS RADIATION IN GREEN TEA?

We tend to think of green tea as a healthy drink. Initially, I found the taste a little difficult to become used to, but am now drinking a couple of cups a day. I have friends who drink ten cups or more. All those wonderful antioxidants that our bodies need! Not only has green tea been drunk for thousands of years in countries such as China, India, Thailand and Japan, but it has been used as a medicine to treat anything and everything, ranging from flatulence to heart conditions. Besides, it is supposed to be good for your complexion.

Now we are reading reports that some of the tea grown in Japan may be accumulating high levels of radionuclides from the crippled Fukushima Dachii nuclear power plant (see yesterday's post). The tea growers from Shizuoka Prefecture, where much of Japan's tea is grown, say this kind of concern is ridiculous. So do some members of the opposition party.

After all, dry tea is a concentrated product. When tea leaves are fresh, and therefore heavier, testing would show lower levels of unhealthy radionuclides such as cesium-137 and 134. And besides, when you add water to dry tea leaves, it becomes even more diluted, thus lowering levels of radionuclides to acceptable levels.

Yes, all this is probably true, but still, I can't say I like the idea of drinking my "healthy" green tea with a touch of nuclear contaminants.

And you had better not chew on the green tea leaves, just in case! Some people do. Not even in your chewing gum, or those delicious Trader Joe's green tea candies.

To your good health,

TSF