JAPAN: Authorities ban more types of vegetables grown near country's quake-crippled nuclear plant

Record ID: 465649

  • Title: JAPAN: Authorities ban more types of vegetables grown near country's quake-crippled nuclear plant
  • Date: 24th March 2011
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 23, 2011) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING PAST VEGETABLE STORE IN TOUGOSHI SHOPPING MALL STORE WORKERS DISPLAYING VEGETABLES SPINACH ON DISPLAY IN STORE
  • Embargoed: 8th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Health
  • Reuters ID: LVA5TKVO659N8VN1MLPIYBS9BJC5
  • Story Text: Higher than normal levels of radiation is found in more types of vegetables grown near Japan's quake-stricken nuclear power plant; Tokyo residents say they are unfazed so far.
    Radiation levels exceeding safety standards have been found in 11 types of vegetables grown near the country's quake-crippled nuclear plant in addition to milk and water, the Japanese government said on Wednesday (March 23), urging people to stop eating them.
    The vegetables, mostly leafy, included broccoli, spinach, cabbage and cauliflower, the health ministry said.
    Traces of above-safety levels of radiation have already been found in milk and water around the Daiichi plant, in Fukushima prefecture, about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
    Officials still insisted, however, that there was no danger to humans and urged the world not to over react.
    "Unfortunately, we are expecting this situation to last longer than expected, so in order to prevent any possible damage from an early stage, we have put a ban on shipping of radiation contaminated vegetables to reduce human contact with harmful substances," Japan's chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, who has been the government's public face during the disaster, said during a news conference.
    "We're going to properly inform foreign governments with updated facts to allow them to effectively respond to the risks," he added.
    Worsened by widespread ignorance of the technicalities of radiation, public concern is rising around the world and radioactive particles have been found as far away as Iceland.
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it was stopping imports of milk, vegetables and fruit from four prefectures -- Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma -- in Japan's crisis-hit northeast.
    South Korea may be next to ban Japanese food after the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986. France this week asked the European Commission to look into harmonising controls on radioactivity in imports from Japan.
    Japan's Asian neighbours are inspecting imports for contamination, and Taiwan advised boats to stop fishing in Japanese waters.
    At a small vegetable store in downtown Tokyo, vegetables grown in Ibaraki prefecture were still being sold, and shoppers said they were not that worried.
    "I think it should be fine if I wash it properly before eating, but if I can find spinach from a different prefecture, I may buy it instead," said 59 year-old housewife Chizuko Saito.
    Another local resident, nurse Toshiko Iwabuchi, said the ban was unreasonable.
    "I'm originally from the northern part of Japan, and my family was also affected by the disaster. So I think it's absurd to ban all the products from the suffering prefectures. The government has already given a clear guideline on how you should eat them," 30 year-old Iwabuchi said.
    Adding to the problems, Tokyo authorities said on Wednesday that water at a purification plant in the capital was detected with 210 becquerels of radioactive iodine -- more than twice the safety level for infants.
    At the six-reactor Fukushima plant, crippled by the earthquake and tsunami, engineers are battling to cool reactors to contain further contamination and avert a meltdown.
    Although there has been progress in restoring power to the Fukushima site 13 days after the accident, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it needed more time before it could say the reactors were stabilised.
    Japan's worst crisis since World War Two may have caused $300 billion damage, sending shock waves through global financial markets.
    The death toll from the disaster has topped 9,300, while 13,700 are still missing, mostly in flattened coastal towns.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register