Monday, July 25, 2011

#Radiation in Japan Spreads: Wheat, Rapeseeds in Fukushima, Rice Hay Outside Fukushima Far Exceeding Safety Limit

No surprise to anyone who didn't trust the Japanese government.

From Asahi Shinbun (11:14PM JST 7/25/2011):

福島県は25日、同県広野町の農家が収穫した小麦から、基準値を超える放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。この小麦は市場に流通していないという。小麦で基準値を超えた放射性物質の検出は初めて。

Fukushima Prefecture announced on July 25 that radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional limit was detected from the wheat harvested at a farm in Hirono-machi [23 kilometers south of Fukushima I Nuke Plant] in Fukushima Prefecture. The prefectural government says the wheat hasn't been sold in the market. It is the first time that radioactive cesium exceeding the limit has been detected in wheat.

 県によると、今月19日にサンプルとして採取した小麦から、基準(1キログラムあたり500ベクレル)を超える同630ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出された。県は農家に出荷自粛を要請した。同県の昨年度の小麦生産量は651トンで、全国25位。

According to the prefectural government, 630 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found in a sample taken on July 19. The prefectural government has asked the farm to withhold shipment on a voluntary basis. Fukushima Prefecture ranks No. 25th in wheat production in Japan, with 651 tonnes produced last year.

 また、同県田村市の農家が収穫したナタネからも、基準を超える同720ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出された。流通はしておらず、県は出荷自粛を要請した。

Also, 720 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium has been detected in the rapeseeds harvested by a farm in Tamura City [41 kilometers west of Fukushima I Nuke Plant] in Fukushima. The rapeseeds haven't been shipped, and the prefectural government has asked the farm to withhold shipment on a voluntary basis.

Don't overly count on the statement that these crops haven't yet been sold in the market. That's as far as the farmer has told the government, or as far as the government can tell, which may not be much.

Also, for those who are wondering: When the government asks a farmer to withhold shipment "on a voluntary basis", it means that technically the farmer is free to ship but the government expects the farmer not to ship, and the farmer will not get compensated for not shipping because it is done on a "voluntary basis" - i.e. on his own judgment, technically. The government thus saves money. It is a code word used by the government that means "You are not supposed to ship, but we won't pay you for your potential loss."

Also from Asahi (4:49AM JST 7/26/2011):

茨城県は25日、茨城県高萩市の農家で集められた稲わらから6万4千ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出したと発表した。乾燥前の水を含んだ状態に換算すると約1万4500ベクレルで、国の基準値(1キロあたり300ベクレル)の48倍となる。この農家からは牛は出荷されていなかった。

Ibaraki Prefecture announced on July 25 that 64,000 becquerels/kg of cesium was detected from the rice hay collected at a farm in Takahagi City [83 kilometers south of Fukushima I Nuke Plant] in Ibaraki Prefecture. If reconstituted, the level of radioactive cesium in the hay would be 14,500 becquerels/kg, more than 48 times the national safety limit [for the feed] of 300 becquerels/kg. No cow has been shipped from this farm.

 これまで福島、宮城、栃木、岩手各県で地元産の稲わらを与えた牛の肉から基準値を超えるセシウムが検出されている。

So far, radioactive cesium exceeding the safety limit has been detected in the meat from cows that were fed with the rice hay collected in Fukushima, Miyagi, Tochigi, and Iwate Prefectures.

So now in Ibaraki. The US government's decision to evacuate its citizens outside 80 kilometers radius from Fukushima I Nuke Plant, which has been criticized by some in the US media as "overreaction", has turned out to be the very prudent thing to do; maybe that wasn't even far enough, considering Takahagi City is outside that zone.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

''There will be chaos by the Autumn''

STeVe the JeW said...

"maybe that wasn't even far enough"

3 full meltdowns w/melt-throughs, 3 destroyed outer containment structures, burning spent fuel ponds...

maybe?

Anonymous said...

This place is an echo chamber. Sorry, but you are making assumptions based on emotion and bias, not fact.

For example:

"Don't overly count on the statement that these crops haven't yet been sold in the market. That's as far as the farmer has told the government, or as far as the government can tell, which may not be much."

I am a gaijin in Japan and appreciate translations and farming of info. But your agenda is so obviously biased. I have sent you links to others looking for info and that have dismissed it based on the obvious emotional bias that you have.

You are just another non-objective player in this game... and we the people in the street are getting sick of so many obvious agendas. We ant info. Not bias.

Anonymous said...

Hang on ... what agenda? you mean spreading the truth? ok EXSKF may well be anti nuclear but wake up to the facts, there is no agenda on this blog other than exposing the lies of the powers that be in Japan...

Anonymous said...

This is a blog by one person. A person who has emotions and opinions and devotes so much time and energy to do this extraordinary job. This is not the NHK news site. If you want that kind of information, go ahead and enjoy differently-biased-information. It's that simple.

Anonymous said...

"This place is an echo chamber. Sorry, but you are making assumptions based on emotion and bias, not fact.

... and we the people in the street are getting sick of so many obvious agendas."

An echo chamber, yes, of the need for funding and its sources. How could it not be?

Agendas, of the obvious type, and "assumptions". Yes, very good. Let's try "we the people in the street" for starters. We're to assume this "we" is whom?
And if 'we' were to confront "we" in this moment, and receive no later reply, 'we' should assume what?

And the Goog Spam filter does not dice that out.

Anonymous said...

Recently, I've started to see occasional comment accusing of the blogger as emotionally-biased, which I haven't seen before. I wonder if the government's newly-started "monitoring" of information on the net has been in action here.

Anonymous said...

Probably govts. soliciting bids from each other for cooperation.

Anonymous said...

The post who said he was a "Gaijin" in Japan stands out a mile as a troll or some kind of government spy on here... foreigners in Japan who call themselves gaijin have no respect for themselves, its like a black person calling himself nigger... we are being watched..

Anonymous said...

I read both English and Japanese, and s far as I can see, areva's translation from Japanese news source into English is accurate without any biass. And as long as that part is accurate, he can freely add any observations he wants. Isn't that what "freedom of expression" means? If you disagree with them, you simply stop coming here any more without saying "other people dismissed it too" or something like that.

Obviously, anon. at July 25, 2011 8:52 PM has HIS/HER own agenda, which is to downgrade the credibility of this blog for some purpose.

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