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The Oceanographic Society of Japan has said its government must disclose more results from ocean radiation tests to correctly gauge the contamination levels of seafood from the sticken Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Moreover, the group said the government ought to release radiation readings in sea water even if they fall below its minimum measurement level, because such low quantities may still be harmful when concentrated in seafood.
“Depending on the species, fish have been known to accumulate as much as 100 times the amount of pollutants in the environment,” explained Jota Kanda, a professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology specializing in marine environment.
A report by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported that seafood testing off Fukushima’s coast found 68 cases of fish and marine life with radiation levels surpassing the government’s safety limit.
Fukushima prefecture tested 505 seafood items and detected excessive radiation levels in 15 samples of sweetfish, seven of salmon, seven of greenling and six of sand lance. Ibaraki prefecture found five cases of extreme radiation levels out of 265 samples.
"The increase could be from seawater churned by swells from the recent typhoon, but it's possible that contaminated groundwater leaked from the plant," said Tetsuo Ito, head of the Atomic Energy Research Institute at Kinki University.
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