Radioactive fish found in Fukushima’s waters

Fish netted in the waters of Fukushima Prefecture have been found to contain radioactive elements up to 110 times in excess statutory food safety standards.

The Japan Times reports that a survey by the Japanese Environment Ministry found that a mountain trout caught in the Niida River of Fukushima prefecture contained 11,400 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, over 110 times in excess of government thresholds for safe food products.

The maximum threshold for radioactive content in food items is 100 becquerels.

The ministry also found 4,400 becequerels of radioactive cesium in a smallmouth bass and 3,000 becquerels in a catfish caught at the Mano Dam.

Fukushima prefecture, situated on the eastern coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, was the site of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011 after the country was rocked by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

The earthquake led to a nuclear meltdown in the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and the subsequent release of copious amounts of radioactive material into both the atmosphere and local ground and ocean waters.

The survey is the second conducted by the Environmental Ministry following an initial study mounted between December of last year and February this year.