Japan Cites Radiation in Milk, Spinach Near Plant

[tekisui]

Source: Tampa Bay Online/AP

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) - FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Japan said radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms near its tsunami-crippled nuclear complex exceeded government safety limits, as emergency teams scrambled Saturday to restore power to the plant so it could cool dangerously overheated fuel.

The food was taken from farms as far as 65 miles (100 kilometers) from the stricken plants, suggesting a wide area of nuclear contamination.

While the radiation levels exceeded the limits allowed by the government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano insisted the products "pose no immediate health risk."

(snip)

The tainted milk was found 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the plant, a local official said. The spinach was collected from six farms between 60 miles (100 kilometers) and 75 miles (120 kilometers) to the south of the reactors.

more: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/mar/19/190959/japan-cites-radiation-in-milk-spinach-near-plant/news-breaking/
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Japan halts sale of food from near Fukushima

Source: Reuters

VIENNA (Reuters) – Japan has halted sales of food products from near a crippled nuclear plant because of contamination by a radioactive element which can pose a short-term health risk, the U.N. atomic agency said on Saturday.

In what it called another "critical" measure to counter contamination of food, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Japanese authorities on March 16 recommended that people leaving the area should ingest stable iodine.

Taken as pills or syrup, stable (non-radioactive) iodine can be used to help protect against thyroid cancer in the event of radiation exposure in a nuclear accident.

"Though radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about eight days and decays naturally within a matter of weeks, there is a short-term risk to human health if radioactive iodine in food is absorbed into the human body," the IAEA said in a statement.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110319/wl_nm/us_japan_nuclear_food

[obxhead]

1. So, they create a safety limit, for safety.

Then when it goes beyond that limit they claim their is no health risk, therefore still safe.

:wtf: