Saturday, March 24, 2012

24,700 Bq/Kg Radioactive Cesium from Tea Leaves in Fukushima City, from Last Year

Move over, Shizuoka tea. Move over, Saitama tea. Here comes Fukushima tea with 24,700 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium.

The tea leaves were picked in Fukushima City in May last year, and they were not commercial tea. A city resident grew in his/her garden and picked for his/her own use.

I hope the tea weren't consumed or given as gifts. At 24,700 becquerels/kg, you cannot even dump it in the garbage, let alone incinerate.

From Mainichi Shinbun local Fukushima version (3/23/2012):

東日本大震災:福島、茶葉から2万4700ベクレル 市民が測定所に持参 /福島

Fukushima: 24,700 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium from tea leaves, brought by a resident to the testing laboratory

 福島市の放射能測定所に市民が持ち込んだ茶葉から、暫定規制値(1キロ当たり500ベクレル)を上回る同2万4700ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出された。22日の市災害対策本部会議で報告された。

24,700 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the tea leaves brought by a city resident to the testing laboratory operated by Fukushima City. The news was reported at the meeting of the disaster response headquarters of Fukushima City on March 22.

 市によると、茶葉は市民が自宅の庭先で栽培したものを測定所で測ったところ、高い値が検出されたため、ゲルマニウム半導体検出器で再検査した。昨年5月に摘み取り、保管していたという。

According to the city, the resident grew the tea in his/her garden. When he/she brought the tea leaves to the testing laboratory, the high levels of radioactive cesium were detected. So the tea leaves were tested again using the germanium semiconductor detector. The tea leaves were picked in May last year, and kept at the resident's house.

 市は、測定器を増設し、月内に計28カ所に測定所を設ける。

The city plans to increase the number of detectors and will set up 28 testing laboratories in the city by the end of this month.

 市環境課は「家庭菜園などで採れた農産物は種類により規制値を超えるものもあり、可能な限り測定所で測ってほしい」としている。

The environment section of the Fukushima city government cautions the residents, "Produce from the home gardens, depending on the types, may exceed the safety limit [for radioactive cesium]. We would like you to bring them to the testing laboratory by all means."

14 comments:

Stock said...

Plutonium admission by the EPA
A lot of the paid shrills for the nuke industry have been very vocal about stating how there was No Plutonium released from Fukushima.

Well, lets see, 3 reactors blew up, the one that blow up the most was a MOX reactor which is like 5% to 10% plutonium, and all reactors produce plutonium as a natural part of the process. And of course all of the "fuel transfer pools" had used fuel which of course had plutonium.

I made a spreadsheet direct download from US EPA Radnet computers. It shows in the weeks after the accident, plutonium detecting in the US at levels 2900% to 3500% over background.

So there is the proof. We been inhaling Plutonium, that's not good.

http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/2012/03/plutonium-admission-by-epa.html

Darth3/11 said...

Not good at all. How much radiation is spread over ALL the gardens of Fukushima...and of course the other nearby areas? Cripes, what are people still living there going to eat? Should they evacuate?

I'm buying all my green tea from Uji, Kyoto, and Kumamoto for the next few years. Sorry, Shizuoka!!! And those incinerators in Shizuoka are not going to help me come back to Shizuoka tea, either.

As you can see, I am stressed about this.

Anonymous said...

What happens after your tea tests out at 24,700 bq/kg ?
Is it thrown out at the testing site?
At home?
Is there a plan beyond increasing the number of detectors?
That grew in the garden right next to your house ?
Which new zone is this ?

Anonymous said...

To Steveo (and -maybe- somewhat OT): Per the NRC email posted on your site under the link you gave, "Japan reported 5 people received lethal radiation doses" - really? Any other sources or more information for this?

Sorry, I tried to post this question on your site, but it wouldn't let me. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

well at least it's self heating tea. Send it to polar workers, it will keep them warm and bright through the winter night. :-(

NoNuke said...

@Darth3/11
There are still one online green tea vendor that refuses to accept that Shizuoka is irreversibly contaminated.
The vendor I'm talking about is O-cha. Look at this: http://greenteaforum.o-cha.com/topic1571.html
He sells his tea from Iwaki!!

Beware from whom you purchase your tea.

NoNuke said...

There is, not there are

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Ito-en USA now sells green tea grown and harvested in Australia.

Atomfritz said...

LaPrimavera,
yes, the australian tea will probably be way less radioactively contaminated. But, can we compare it with high-quality (but radioactive) Japanese tea?
I think it would be like comparing Darjeeling tea with some random African crap tea. Completely different things imho.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

@Atomfritz, without having tasted the Australian tea, I wouldn't be too quick to brand it as the equivalent of African crap.

I would personally have Australian tea than premier Japanese tea from eastern Japan. I am not brave enough to knowingly ingest cesium.

NoNuke said...

Ok, this rules out tea from Saitama and Shizuoka. But what about tea coming from Yame, Kagoshima, Uji, Kyoto and generally all the westernmost part of Japan?

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

@NoNuke, as long as they are "single origin" teas. Tea wholesalers usually blend teas from various parts, but they do make single origin teas.

Anonymous said...

The food is inedible and the land is uninhabitable. Better to wake up to that fact, pack up and move on. Why is that so difficult to fathom?

Anonymous said...

Leaving home is never easy. And radiation is an imperceptible threat, which makes it even a more difficult decision. If radiation only ruined the paint on our beloved cars ... we'd all be more inclined to take the threat seriously.

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