Fukushima fish get clean bill of health

Fukushima fish get clean bill of health

The Office of Atoms for Peace says radiation in fish from the Fukushima area is so low their instruments can't detect anything. But an activist demand for names of 12 restaurants serving the flatfish dish is ignored. (Illustration via Momentum Institute)
The Office of Atoms for Peace says radiation in fish from the Fukushima area is so low their instruments can't detect anything. But an activist demand for names of 12 restaurants serving the flatfish dish is ignored. (Illustration via Momentum Institute)

Authorities have intercepted fish stocks imported from Fukushima in Japan for inspection but have not yet found any harmful traces of radioactive substances in products from this nuclear accident-hit prefecture.

Their safety assurance comes amid fresh concern over sea products from this region.

Consumer advocates learned earlier that 12 Japanese restaurants in Thailand were serving fish bought from Fukushima, where a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered reactor meltdowns and radiation leaks at its coastal nuclear facility in March 2011.

The Department of Fisheries asked the importer "not to distribute the fish" after learning 27.5 kilogrammes of flounder and 4.5kg of sole were shipped to the country last Friday, deputy department chief Umaporn Pimolbutr said.

Officials wanted to ensure the two species were not contaminated by nuclear substances.

Fish samples were sent to Office of Atoms for Peace for examination and it revealed Monday all of the products were safe, Ms Umaporn said.

Experts found that levels of radioisotopes -- Caesium-134 and 137 as well as Iodine-131 -- in flatfish flounder were so low a regular device was unable to detect them.

They found greater amounts of Caesium-137 in sole but the level was still lower than a safety limit of 500 becquerel per kg. That is the standard the Public Health Ministry uses to screen tainted food, she said.

Caesium-137, one of the radioactive substances leaked from the nuclear power plant, has drawn scrutiny in previous tests.

In 2016, the Department of Medical Sciences conducted a test on imported fish but found no harmful contamination.

The same year, the Office of Atoms for Peace analysed samples of sea water collected from the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea and also found no trace of Caesium-137.

Thai authorities in Tokyo, who have monitored Japan's handling of marine products in Fukushima, said fish from Fukushima was safe for consumption, Ms Umaporn said.

After the 2011 nuclear crisis, Japan conducted weekly inspections of these aquatic animals and set a strict limit on caesium levels at 100 becquerel per kg. If dangerous levels were found, the products were immediately banned.

In the first three months after the radiation leaks, over 50% of fish were tainted with unsafe levels of caesium. But the amounts kept reducing in later tests. In April 2012, Fukushima said tests showed its marine products were safe.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (12)