After an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station plant in Japan, people started to worry about radiation in sushi fish. There is no doubt that there are some levels of radiation and radioactive fallout in some foods in Japan. One step that people are taking is to start to buy fish caught in Southwestern Japan instead of Northeastern Japan, where the radiation disaster at the nuclear facility occurred. FDA officials in America say fish that is coming from Japan is being screened for radiation before it's being made available to the marketplace. This will most likely affect the availability of some Yellowtail and some Snapper. Fish less likely to be affected are Tuna and Salmon, as they usually come from suppliers in the United States and Europe. This is according to an online article at the NBC News website.
Here are excerpts from A Radiation Reality Check from the same NBC News site:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/food-drink/Reality-Check-on-Radiation-Risk-for-Food-Sushi-118448179.html
Radioactive iodine, from food or the air, can build up in the thyroid, leading to thyroid cancer years later. Young children and pregnant women are at greatest risk. Thyroid cancer is one of the least fatal cancers if treated promptly.
Q: In what foods in Japan have these radioactive elements been found?
A: Iodine has been found mostly in milk and spinach, but also in chrysanthemum greens, leeks and a few other foods. Cesium also has been found in some vegetables.
Q: What's being done to make sure contaminated foods don't reach consumers outside of Japan?
A: China, South Korea and a number of neighboring Asian countries have ordered radiation monitoring of food imports from Japan. "There is no risk to the U.S. food supply,'' the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday. Foods from Japan make up less than 4 percent of all U.S. imported foods, but the FDA said it would "be paying special attention'' to imports from the earthquake-affected area.
Q: How does radiation get into food?
A: Fallout can land on crops in fields and wash into the soil to be soaked through the roots. Livestock can eat contaminated animal feed. It's possible seafood could be affected from contaminated water.
Q: How long will radiation be a food threat?
A: Radioactive iodine decays quickly, with a half-life of eight days, meaning the length of time it takes for half of it to break down harmlessly. Cesium, however, can stay in soil for 30 years. Also, the radiation stays only in the top inches of soil so deep plowing can make a field safe to use.
Geiger Counters
Due to the disaster in Japan, orders for Geiger Counters have been very large and most suppliers are sold out of almost every type and model of Geiger counter. Make a news alert (see how below) and then follow the news and watch who is manufacturing them and who has Geiger Counters in stock and what the best price is.
Nuclear Radiation Fallout In Food From Japan And Fish From Japan
Here is a link to news that some large sushi restaurants have stopped serving Japanese food.
Sushi Restaurants Drop Japanese Fish on Radiation Fears By Frederik Balfour
Sushi restaurants are dropping Japanese fresh food from their menus as a radiation plume released by a damaged nuclear plant in the country heightens fears over possible radioactive contamination.
“Our guests’ safety is our top priority,” said Sari Yong, a spokeswoman for Shangri-La Asia Ltd., the region’s biggest luxury hotel company by market value with 71 locations worldwide. “As a precaution, we have temporarily stopped importing fresh food from Japan.”
The Mandarin Oriental International Ltd.’s flagship in Hong Kong and the city’s Four Seasons Hotel have stopped buying food from Japan even as experts including chemical pathology professor Lam Ching-wan say the health risks haven’t been established. The U.S. and U.K. governments are among those that have advised citizens to consider leaving Japan as concerns mounted that authorities were losing the battle to contain leaks from the quake-stricken nuclear plant north of Tokyo.
News Alerts - Stay On Top Of Radiation, Fallout, Sushi and Nuclear News
Setting up some Google News Alerts is a really good way to stay on top of the latest news concerning the after effects of the nuclear radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant. To make sure that you have all the latest, set up keywords that cover the subject. Here are the top 5 keywords and phrases we use to monitor the situation. (You have the option to get a daily update or an “as it happens” news alert. We suggest choosing Daily, that way you can scan and pick what looks like relevant and pertinent stories all at once, instead of being interrupted all day by the news alerts as they happen.)
- Sushi fish radiation news
- Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant news
- Japan food contamination news
- Nuclear radiation news
- Geiger counter news
