South Korea raises radioactive alarm
CONCERNS over radioactive leaks into the ocean from Japan's stricken Fukushima plant deepened.
South Korea reportedly lodged a protest yesterday over the dumping of millions of litres of radioactive water.
Meanwhile, tests showed radioactive iodine and cesium had been found in fish caught in the Pacific Ocean south of the plant since northeastern Japan was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
The death toll has exceeded 12,000, with more than 15,000 people unaccounted for.
Water sampled just off the plant - where a leak continued to emit radioactive substances into the sea - showed radioactive iodine levels of 7.5 million times the legal limit on Saturday.
A sample of sand eels caught off Ibaraki Prefecture, south of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, found 4080 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive iodine, and 447 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium.
The cesium concentration in the eels is just below the Japanese limit for human consumption.
There is no limit in Japan for iodine in fish and meat, but the maximum allowable in drinking water is 300 becquerels per kilogram and in vegetables 2000 becquerels per kilogram.
Reader Comments