Fish caught near Fukushima shows more than 2,500 times legal radiation limit

Fish caught near Fukushima shows more than 2,500 times legal radiation limit for human consumption


(NaturalNews) The two-year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster is rapidly approaching, and the waters around the crippled
plant are still highly contaminated with radiation, according to new
reports. A fish caught as part of an ongoing Tokyo Electric Power Company
(TEPCO) seafood monitoring program recently tested at levels of 254,000
becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg) of radioactive cesium, or roughly 2,540
times higher than the maximum legal limit of 100 Bq/kg established by
the government for seafood.

The contaminated fish, which has been
dubbed "Mike the Murasai," was caught in ocean waters fairly close to
the shuttered plant nearly 24 months after the catastrophe, raising
fresh concerns about the safety of seafood off the coast of Japan.
Though the fish itself did not show visible signs of deformation or
other radiation-induced damage, according to reports, the level of
radiation detected in its tissue is high enough to suggest that the
Fukushima plant is more than likely still releasing extremely high
levels of nuclear radiation directly into the ocean.

In response,
TEPCO says it is planning to install an extensive series of nets
beneath the surface of the waters surrounding the still-damaged plant,
which will cover a radius of about 20 kilometers, or roughly 12.5 miles.
This netting is intended to trap other contaminated fish and prevent
them from migrating too far from the plant. Many experts worry that
deposits of radioactive cesium and other nuclear chemicals are
continuing to build up on the ocean floor, and that Murasai, which are
feeder fish for other sea species, will inadvertently contaminate other fish species, and potentially even fisheries.


Radiation levels actually appear to be increasing around Fukushima

The
high levels of radiation detected in Mike the Murasai would not
necessarily be as big of a concern if they were less than previously
detected levels. But according to reports, the 254,000 Bq/kg of cesium
identified is nearly 10 times higher than the amount detected in
scorpion fish caught last August, suggesting that radiation
pollution is increasing in the area, despite continued reassurances by
TEPCO and government officials that the situation is under control.

It was also confirmed back in November by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
(WHOI), an independent oceanographic research institution based in the
U.S., that nearly half of all sea creatures living in the waters near
the Fukushima
plant are still contaminated with levels of radioactive cesium that
greatly exceed government safety limits. And as the radioactive
particles continue to sink in ocean waters, the problem is only expected
to worsen, particularly for bottom-feeding fish.

"We can't sell
any of these fish," explained Kozo Endo, a local fisherman, about the
dire situation. "We can only catch them for radiation sampling. Those
that are left over -- well, all of us working on the boat take them home
to eat."

Both TEPCO and the Japanese government continue to
change their respective stories surrounding the disaster. In the past,
the two entities tried to deny that Fukushima was still leaking
radiation into the ocean. After this was shown to be false, they then
tried to claim that radiation levels were minimal, and that particles
were sinking into the ocean floor where they would be unable to cause
further damage. Now, the story has changed again, and TEPCO is allegedly
taking more drastic measures to contain radioactive fish.

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/038887_Fukushima_fish_radiation.html