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Fukushima in Our Food: Low Levels of Radiation from Japan’s
Nuclear Meltdown Detected in Milk, Fruit and Vegetable
Samples Tested from
California Farms
http://www.emfnews.org
June 1, 2011 | By
Steven Hoffman
As the crippled reactors in Japan continue to emit
radiation into the environment, the risk grows that it will
appear in our food. Radiation has already been detected in
trace amounts in milk across the U.S., and in strawberries,
kale and other vegetables in California.
“The Swiss government Wednesday decided to exit
nuclear energy, phasing out the country’s existing nuclear
plants and seeking alternative energy sources to meet
Switzerland’s energy needs, following widespread security
concerns in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in
Japan.” – Dow Jones, May 25, 2011
“We believe we can show those countries who decide to
abandon nuclear power—or not start using it—how it is
possible to achieve growth, creating jobs and economic
prosperity while shifting the energy supply toward renewable
energies.” – Chancellor Angela Merkel when announcing on
May 30 that Germany would abandon nuclear power by 2022.
Boulder, Colo. (June 1, 2011) – Nuclear
energy is clean…until it isn’t.
The emerging reality of the ongoing nuclear reactor
crisis in Fukushima, Japan—now in its third month after a
devastating earthquake and tsunami caused nuclear explosions
at the plant 150 miles north of Tokyo—is that it is not
under control at all. Three of the six reactors are in
meltdown. The crippled reactors are acting like a huge dirty
bomb, emitting significant quantities of radioactive
isotopes that are, in fact, contaminating our air, water,
soil and food in a steady stream that may continue for a
long time.
And it’s not just affecting Japan, though they’re
certainly getting the worst of it. Since the accident on
March 12, radioactive fallout from Fukushima has been
spreading to the U.S. and across the northern hemisphere.
Elevated levels of radiation caused by the meltdowns in
Japan have been detected in drinking water across the
country, in rainwater, in soil, and in food grown on U.S.
farms.
The mainstream media is not really reporting on this.
Since the initial weeks of the accident, there has been a
disturbing silence. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO),
the utility that owns and operates the reactors, and the
government of Japan have handled public relations around
this monumental disaster about as well as BP handled the
Gulf oil spill last summer, and they are losing credibility
fast. The radiation has leaked much faster than TEPCO’s
disclosure of information related to the crisis; it’s only
now that we know that three of the six reactors at the plant
are in full meltdown. One of the meltdowns occurred within
hours of the accident on March 12, but was not revealed
until May 15, more than two months later.
Crisis, What Crisis?
In announcing the news, TEPCO admitted that it did not want
the public to know the extent of the accident early on to
avoid panic. They continue to downplay the time it will take
to get the reactors under control and the threat this
unprecedented crisis presents to our food, health and
environment. While TEPCO has given a time estimate of six to
nine months to control the reactors, on May 29 a senior
TEPCO official admitted that it may be impossible to
stabilize the crippled plant by the beginning of 2012. One
U.S. official, John Kelly, deputy assistant secretary for
nuclear reactor technologies at the U.S. Energy Department,
told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in late May that the
Fukushima reactors are still in grave danger and may
continue to vent radioactive steam for a year or more,
according to the Washington Post.
With the reactors in meltdown, TEPCO employees are racing
to avoid a potential “China Syndrome” as superhot nuclear
fuel melts down through holes burned into the steel and
concrete containment vessels into the earth, thus liberating
it into the environment.
Additionally, highly toxic radioactive iodine, cesium,
strontium, plutonium and other toxic man-made radionuclides
have leaked unabated since March 12 into the ocean and
atmosphere. The radiation is contaminating large areas of
Japan. Monitoring the ocean around the Fukushima plant,
Greenpeace reported on May 26 that the contamination is
spreading over a wide area and accumulating in sea life,
rather than simply dispersing like the Japanese authorities
claimed would happen.
Also, radiation continues to blow in a steady stream
across the Pacific Ocean toward North America, following the
course of the jet stream in the atmosphere, and major
currents in the ocean that flow from Japan to America. It
took less than a month for radioactive iodine and cesium
from the Fukushima nuclear accident to first show up in U.S.
milk, and it continues to be detected in trace amounts in
milk produced in California, one of the only states
conducting any kind of testing for radiation in food.
Independent Tests Indicate Radiation Is Entering
the U.S. Food Chain
Authorities in the U.S. insist that there is no danger to
public health or the environment from the Fukushima nuclear
crisis, and that levels of radiation that have been detected
in water, air, soil and food in North America since the
accident are in such minuscule quantities as to present
little to no danger. EPA discontinued its Fukushima
radiation monitoring efforts, and FDA says there is no
danger to our food or seafood and therefore testing is not
necessary. There have been no calls since the accident for
heightened nuclear safety inspections or to upgrade or
decommission aging nuclear power plants in the U.S.
Yet, in limited testing conducted by states and
independent labs since the accident, radioactive iodine and
cesium—both toxic to human health—have appeared at elevated
levels in milk and vegetables produced in California.
Radiation has also been detected in milk sold in Arizona,
Arkansas, Hawaii, Vermont and Washington since the accident.
Elevated levels of radioactivity have also been detected
in drinking water in numerous municipalities from Los
Angeles to Philadelphia, and in soil samples tested in
California. Fallout is blanketing America and will do so for
a prolonged period of time until they can somehow stop the
crippled reactors from leaking any more radiation into the
environment—a formidable task.
On May 25, the University of California Berkeley
Department of Nuclear Engineering (UCB)—one of the few
organizations testing food, soil, air and water in the
U.S.—reported that it had detected the highest level of
radioactive cesium 137 in nearly a month in raw milk samples
taken from a dairy in Sonoma County where the cows are grass
fed. UCB also reported elevated levels of cesium 134 and
cesium 137 in pasteurized, homogenized milk samples with a
“best by” date of May 26 from a Bay Area organic dairy
“where the farmers are encouraged to feed their cows local
grass.”
Iodine 131 in California Milk Suggests New
Fallout Continues
The State of California reported on May 2 that it detected
higher levels of radioactive iodine 131 in milk samples
tested at CalPoly Dairy Farm in San Luis Obispo compared to
milk tested at the end of March. Additionally, the new milk
samples contained trace amounts of radioactive cesium 134
and cesium 137, which were not seen in the March samples.
The presence of iodine 131, with a short half-life of eight
days, in the new milk samples indicates that even now,
nuclear reactions are occurring at the crippled Japanese
plant, bringing fresh fallout on a daily basis to Asia,
North America and around the northern hemisphere.
The UCB nuclear engineering department emphasizes that
levels of radiation measured in food samples grown in the
U.S. are very low, and that there is little threat to public
health from the fallout reaching the U.S. Yet they continue
to find radioactivity at heightened levels due to the
Fukushima meltdown in food grown in northern
California—their chosen area of testing near the university.
Little to no testing is being done in the rest of the
country.
Dairy farmers on the Big Island of Hawaii, on the other
hand, are taking a preventive approach to some of the
highest levels of radiation detected in the U.S., and are
now feeding boron in the form of sodium borate to their cows
and goats at milking times along with kelp supplements as a
way to help reduce elevated levels of radiation in milk. The
dairy farmers are also considering applying boron to their
pastures to mitigate radiation levels in the grass, reported
Energy News on May 25. Boron is reported to act as a natural
radiation absorber, and kelp may help prevent radioactive
iodine from accumulating in the body.
Radiation Concentrates in Milk and Broad-leaf
Vegetables
Radiation concentrates in milk because cows eat grass, and
grass and broad-leafed vegetables such as spinach and kale
are among the first crops to accumulate radiation from
nuclear fallout when it comes down in rain and dust and
settles on the leaves and surrounding soil.
Organically raised cows are more vulnerable, as they are
required to eat grass as part of organic certification
standards, reports NewHope360.com, an industry news source.
However, organic proponents ensure consumers that any levels
of radiation are minute and present no risk, and that the
benefits of consuming organic milk far outweigh any such
risks.
In Japan, spinach grown in the region around Fukushima
was banned soon after the accident. Two months later, in
mid-May, radiation above maximum allowable limits was
detected in tea leaves harvested from farms south of
Tokyo—farms that are 200 miles from the crippled reactors,
indicating that Japan’s radiation contamination problem is
far from over. Radiation has also been detected in potatoes
and sweet potatoes in Japan. In fact, according to a report
published on May 29 by the Japan Agriculture Ministry,
potatoes may be more susceptible to radiation contamination
than other vegetables. Sadly, radiation also has been
detected in breast milk from several women in the Tokyo
area, raising significant health risks for pregnant women,
new mothers and children.
In the U.S., certain fruit and vegetables grown in
California are testing positive for elevated levels of
radiation from the Fukushima nuclear accident. On May 16,
UCB reported detectable levels of radioactive cesium 137 in
samples of kale, strawberries and grass grown in northern
California. UCB has also found higher than normal levels of
cesium 134 and cesium 137 in foods grown in the Bay Area,
including spinach, arugula and wild-harvested mushrooms.
Eating Radiation Isn’t the Same as Flying in a
Plane
The danger, of course, is that ingesting or inhaling
long-lived, man-made radioactive particles over a long
period of time in our water, dust, soil and food is very
different than being exposed to electromagnetic radiation
from a television or cosmic radiation from a plane ride.
Once it gets in the body, lodging in bones, glands and other
organs, it can damage DNA and cells for a long time,
significantly raising the cumulative risk of cancer.
Radioactive cesium 137 alone has a half-life of 30 years,
where it can remain in the body emanating radiation the
whole time. The risks are particularly high for pregnant
women, infants and children.
Many scientists, including those at Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR), claim that no level of man-made toxic
radiation in the air, water or food is safe. “There is no
safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food,
water or other sources. Period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO,
immediate past president of PSR, in late March. “Exposure to
radionuclides, such as iodine 131 and cesium 137, increases
the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must
be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and
water,” he said.
“Consuming food containing radionuclides is particularly
dangerous. If an individual ingests or inhales a radioactive
particle, it continues to irradiate the body as long as it
remains radioactive and stays in the body,” said Alan
Lockwood, MD, board member of PSR. “Children are much more
susceptible to the effects of radiation and stand a much
greater chance of developing cancer than adults,” said
Andrew Kanter, MD, president-elect of PSR’s board. “So it is
particularly dangerous when they consume radioactive food or
water.”
Europe Issues Caution on Certain Foods: Risks “No
Longer Negligible”
In France, the respected radiological research institute
CRIIRAD in mid-April cautioned pregnant and breastfeeding
women and children in Europe to avoid eating certain foods
due to the spread of radiation from Fukushima, including
milk and creamy cheese, and spinach and other broad leaf
vegetables, due to the potential health risks associated
with ingesting radioactive particles that may accumulate in
these foods. In making the announcement, CRIIRAD said the
risks related to prolonged contamination among vulnerable
groups of the population can no longer be considered
“negligible” and it is now necessary to avoid “risky
behavior.” CRIIRAD also estimated that the West Coast of the
U.S. is being subjected to eight to 10 times higher levels
of radiation than Europe from the nuclear meltdown in Japan.
Chris Busby, Ph.D., Scientific Secretary of the European
Committee on Radiation Risk, who published a “Don’t Panic”
guide in early April saying that the danger was
insignificant, later changed his opinion. In an April 24
statement to Washington’s Blog, Busby said, “…since then I
have re-thought this advice as the thing is still fissioning
and releasing 10 to the fourteen Becquerels a day. This will
mean that strontium 90 and uranium and particulates will be
building up in the USA and Europe. I will assess this later
but for now I think it prudent to stop drinking milk.”
This is not something the dairy industry—conventional or
organic—nor the produce industry, much of which is based in
California, want to hear. One official at a major
California-based organic produce company told me, “It made
the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I first heard
the news about radioactive spinach in Japan.”
What Can We Do About It?
While we may not be able to affect what’s going on at
Fukushima, we could certainly try to prevent such an
accident from happening again. We need to express our
concern and speak out to the President, who supports nuclear
power, and Congress and insist that aging reactors be
inspected regularly, upgraded for safety, and decommissioned
when necessary. Letter writing works when you’ve got lots of
constituents doing it.
This global-scale crisis happened from just one nuclear
power plant. There are 104 nuclear reactors in operation in
the U.S., with a number of them located in major earthquake
and tsunami zones in heavily populated areas along the West
Coast of the United States. God forbid something should
happen close to home; we are in no way prepared to handle an
accident of this magnitude. Heck, we couldn’t even get help
to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in a timely manner, let
alone evacuate all of southern California, for example.
We also should insist on increased, not scaled-back,
testing for radiation in our air, water, soil and food. It
is unconscionable that our public institutions established
to safeguard food, health and the environment have neglected
this responsibility. Food producers, too, need timely access
to this information from federal, state and regulatory
agencies.
What to do about food? As I make my livelihood in the
food industry, it is difficult for me to say that pregnant
women, breastfeeding moms, infants and children might want
to avoid certain foods such as milk and broad-leaf
vegetables that may present a higher risk of radiation
exposure, and to check the source of their drinking water.
However, as an advocate of public health and the
environment, that’s what I think needs to be said. I would
refer readers to CRIIRAD‘s recommendations to certain
vulnerable segments of the European population. I believe
our food, water, health and environment have been terribly
compromised by this global nuclear catastrophe, and I also
think that, after poor Japan, which may have to evacuate
large portions of its sovereign land, the U.S. is directly
downwind and downstream, so to speak, from the Fukushima
disaster.
What our family is doing this summer is buying more
locally grown food. We live in Colorado and I’m hoping the
Rocky Mountains will take some of the stuff out of the air.
But I am concerned for my friends on the West Coast and
Hawaii. And frankly, the whole country, hemisphere and world
will continue to be exposed to the fallout emitted from one
nuclear power plant located thousands of miles away. And my
prayers go to Japan. The world is truly a small place.
In my lifetime, there has been Three Mile Island,
Chernobyl and now Fukushima, which is quickly surpassing
Chernobyl as one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters…and
those are just the ones they’ve told us about. Basically, we
have experienced a major nuclear accident about once every
20 years. That is not good odds, given that there are
hundreds of reactors around the world. This type of incident
could happen anywhere, whether it be from natural disaster
or human error. With Fukushima in full meltdown, it is a
very good time to speak out that nuclear power is not safe,
and the cost is way too high.
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