Food contamination raises radiation fears 2011 News

Japanese officials reported progress on Sunday in their battle to gain control over a leaking tsunami-stricken nuclear complex though the crisis was far from over with the discovery of more radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water adding to public fears about contaminated food and drink. The government halted shipments of spinach from one area and raw milk from another near the nuclear plant after tests found iodine exceeded safety limits. But the contamination spread to spinach in three other prefectures and to more vegetables - canola and chrysanthemum greens. Tokyo s tap water where iodine turned up Friday now has cesium. Rain and dust are also tainted. The Health Ministry also advised Iitate a village of 6000 people about 30 kilometres 19 miles northwest of the Fukushima plant not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Farmers living near Japan s crippled nuclear power plant fear that contamination of some crops will deal another blow to the Fukushima region. On Saturday Japan s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announced that tainted milk and spinach were collected from several farms ranging from 20 miles 30 kilometres to 75 miles 120 kilometres away from the reactors. The areas where the spinach and milk were sampled are rich farm country also known for melons rice and peaches so the contamination could affect food supplies for large parts of Japan. I m worried. We don t know where it s going to end said 83-year-old Chiyoko Kaizuka as she worked in her spinach field in Ibaraki prefecture on Sunday. Kaizuka s concerns are compounded by memories of the deadly nuclear accident at Tokaimura nuclear power plant north of Tokyo 11 years ago which forced farmers to abandon much of their crops. For months after the leak Tokyo residents refused to buy any vegetables grown in the area. The latest contamination scare is likely to hit Ibaraki farmers just as hard as Tokyo residents expressed concern about buying fresh produce from areas around the crippled Fukushima reactor. At a supermarket on Tokyo s island neighbourhood of Tsukishima several shoppers said they would avoid produce from Fukushima and nearby Ibaraki prefecture. One shopper said she would wash any fresh produce carefully before eating it. Minute traces of radioactive iodine were also found in Tokyo s water supply further rattling residents. Japanese officials have tried to calm a jittery public saying the amounts of radiation detected were so small that people would have to consume unimaginable amounts to endanger their health. An expert in the United States also said the risk from the radiation levels in food appeared limited and urged calm. However another farmer said she fears the contamination scare could ruin livelihoods hitting demand for crops not even affected by the crisis. There will probably be damaging rumours said a tearful Shizuko Kohata 60 a farmer evacuated from a town near the nuclear plant to a sports arena shelter in Saitama nort