Foodwatch and IPPNW
believe that the European Union, the German government and the Japanese
government do not do enough to inform their citizens that there are no ‘safe’
maximum limits for the radioactive contamination of foodstuffs. Exposure to radiation, no matter how
minimal, is a risk to health because it is enough to trigger major illnesses
such as cancer. ……
………..Permissible limits today in the EU stand between 200 and 600
becquerels of cesium per kilogram of food. This
is in stark contradiction to standards found in currently valid German
legislation. The German Radiation
Protection Ordinance governing the operation of nuclear power plants stipulates
that total exposure for an individual may not exceed an effective annual dose
of 1 mSv per year. In contrast, the EU
radiation limits for foodstuffs tolerate an annual dose of at least 33 mSv for
adults and 68 mSv for children and adolescents…….
Thilo Bode, executive director of foodwatch,
said,“Official
permissible limits in the EU and Japan today are unacceptably high; they
reflect commercial interests and expose the population unnecessarily to massive
health risks. The precautionary principle and the right to physical integrity
are anchored in fundamental European legislation, from which emerges the
obligation to act on behalf of European policy. The EU must drastically reduce
officially permissible limits to ensure an adequate level of protection for its
citizens.”
Pediatrician Dr. med. Winfrid Eisenberg
(IPPNW) added: “Radioactivity
affects living cells. Even the smallest doses of radiation can alter genetic
information, harm the immune system, and cause cancer – this is especially true
for children and adolescents. The younger a child is, the faster it grows and
the more cell divisions take place, increasing the danger of radiation damage.
An embryo is by far much more sensitive to radiation than anyone else. The EU’s
radiation protection limits are irresponsible from a medical point of view.”
(IPPNW) International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
----------------------------------------
Becquerel is a unit indicating the amount of
radioactivity emitted coming from radioactive decay in an atom per second. One of main radioactive materials, Cesium* is used to measure the amount
of allowable radiation in the food. So for example
if you consume 100g of rice that contains cesium 500BQ/kg, Cesium will keep
emitting radiation 50 times per second, damaging nearby cells whilst it is
decaying, that is, until it is eliminated out of the body.
After Chernobyl disaster every country set up
new regulations on the amount of allowable radiation in imported food. I was horrified to know that EU had permitted
up to 1250BQ/kg (for
cesium). Then in 2008 EU changed the level in the range 200 to 600BQ/kg . In UK it changed to 600BQ/kg in the same year. In Japan after the Fukushima disaster 500BQ/kg was set up for their own produce, so UK reduced the level to 500BQ/kg. This level remains in force today in UK.
In Japan the amount of radiation in rice was only 0.01BQ/kg before the Fukushima disaster. That shows how much the radiation has been contaminating the environment. It means some of the Japanese rice that the EU imports outside Japan could contain up to 5000 times more radiation than before. Besides in Japan from April 1, 2012 the level wasreduced to 100BQ/kg (for cesium). So it could mean that contaminated food which they can’t sell in Japan could be exported to the countries that have more relaxed regulations, such as EU countries and Thai (500) and Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippine, Vietnam, Malaysia(1000) and USA (1200).
http://www.maff.go.jp/j/export/e_info/pdf/121019.pdf
In Japan the amount of radiation in rice was only 0.01BQ/kg before the Fukushima disaster. That shows how much the radiation has been contaminating the environment. It means some of the Japanese rice that the EU imports outside Japan could contain up to 5000 times more radiation than before. Besides in Japan from April 1, 2012 the level wasreduced to 100BQ/kg (for cesium). So it could mean that contaminated food which they can’t sell in Japan could be exported to the countries that have more relaxed regulations, such as EU countries and Thai (500) and Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippine, Vietnam, Malaysia(1000) and USA (1200).
http://www.maff.go.jp/j/export/e_info/pdf/121019.pdf
Cesium* - Half-life of Cesium 134 is 2 years,
Cesium 137 is 30 years. Half
life is the
period of time in which the radioactivity is reduced by one half through
decay. Chernobyl disaster happened 26 years ago so the land and the
food produced there still have been much contaminated from the
Chernobyl disaster.
http://genpatsu.sblo.jp/article/58373465.html
http://onodekita.sblo.jp/article/57016460.html
http://www.maff.go.jp/j/export/e_shoumei/shoumei.html http://www.japanfocus.org/-Martin_J_-Frid/3722
Chernobyl disaster.
http://genpatsu.sblo.jp/article/58373465.html
http://onodekita.sblo.jp/article/57016460.html
http://www.maff.go.jp/j/export/e_shoumei/shoumei.html http://www.japanfocus.org/-Martin_J_-Frid/3722
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