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Nuclear Radiation in Our Food
http://www.emfnews.org
By Chris Kilham
June 30, 2011
Though the horrendous tsunami that hit Japan on March 12,
2011 seems like old news in the midst of today’s headlines,
the crippled nuclear power plants at Fukishima Daichi
continue to spew radiation into water, air and soil, with no
end in sight.
Even as thousands of Japanese workers struggle to contain
the ongoing nuclear disaster, low levels of radiation from
those power plants have been detected in foods in the United
States. Milk, fruits and vegetables show trace amounts of
radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daichi power plants,
and the media appears to be paying scant attention, if any
attention at all. It is as if the problem only involves
Japan, not the vast Pacific Ocean, into which highly
radioactive water has poured by the dozens of tons, and not
into air currents and rainwater that carry radiation to U.S.
soil and to the rest of the world. And while both
Switzerland and Germany have come out against any further
nuclear development, the U.S. the nuclear power industry
continues as usual, with aging and crumbling power plants
receiving extended operating licenses from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, as though it can’t happen here. But
it is happening here, on your dinner plate.
Taking a page from the BP pubic relations handbook, TEPCO
(Tokyo Electric Power Company) and the Japanese government
have downplayed the extent of the nuclear disaster at
Fukushima Daichi, in which three of six nuclear reactors are
in ongoing meltdown. According to Japanese nuclear engineer
Naoto Sekimura, nuclear fuel rod meltdown at the damaged
plants began only hours after the tsunami, and the situation
has not been contained. There is still an ongoing threat of
a total “China Syndrome” meltdown, and Japanese officials
now say that the three damaged plants may possibly continue
to emit uncontrolled radiation for another year.
According to Greenpeace, the ocean around large areas of
Japan has been contaminated by toxic radioactive agents
including cesium, iodine, plutonium and strontium. These
radioactive agents are accumulating in sea life. Fish,
shellfish and sea vegetables are absorbing this radiation,
while airborne radioactive particles have contaminated
land-based crops in Japan, including spinach and tea grown
200 miles south of the damaged nuclear plants. Meanwhile, on
U.S. soil, radiation began to show up in samples of milk
tested in California, just one month after the plants were
damaged.
Radiation tests conducted since the nuclear disaster in
Japan have detected radioactive iodine and cesium in milk
and vegetables produced in California. According to tests
conducted by scientists at the UC Berkeley Department of
Nuclear Engineering, milk from grass fed cows in Sonoma
County was contaminated with cesium 137 and cesium 134. Milk
sold in Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Vermont and Washington
has also tested positive for radiation since the accident.
Additionally, drinking water tested in some U.S.
municipalities also shows radioactive contamination. Is the
fallout from Fukushima Daichi falling on us? Yes, it is.
Thanks to the jet stream air currents that flow across
the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. is receiving a steady flow of
radiation from Fukushima Daichi. And while many scientists
say that the levels of contamination in food pose no
significant threat to health, scientists are unable to
establish any actual safe limit for radiation in food.
Detection of radioactive iodine 131, which degrades rapidly,
in California milk samples shows that the fallout from Japan
is reaching the U.S. quickly.
Though California is somewhat on the ball regarding
testing for radiation in foods, other states appear to be
asleep at the switch with this issue. Yet broad-leaf
vegetables including spinach and kale are accumulating
radiation from rain and dust. Some spinach, arugula and
wild-harvested mushrooms have tested positive for cesium 134
and 137 according to UCB, as have strawberries.
According to the U.S.-based group of medical doctors
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), no amount of
man-made radiation in water and 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.”
Doctor Alan Lockwood MD echoes this. “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.”
“Children are much more susceptible to the effects of
radiation and stand a much greater chance of developing
cancer than adults,” states Andrew Kanter, MD, president of
PSR’s board. “So it is particularly dangerous when they
consume radioactive food or water.”
Should you panic
about this? No. That will do no good. But you can call,
write and email your congressperson, your senator, and any
other elected officials in your district, ask them to push
for testing of foods and water in your area, and tell them
to take the threat of global nuclear fallout seriously. For
while none of the 104 nuclear power plants in the U.S. are
melting down at present, we have had our own nuclear
accidents. Remember Three Mile Island? Radiation has made
its way to the American dinner table. This is a time to
speak out, and to put pressure on policy makers. Clearly,
it’s far better to be politically active now than
radioactive tomorrow.
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