logo
  • Home
  • Book Content
  • Author
  • Press Kit
  • Maps and Diagrams
  • Videos
  • Blog
Fukushima and the coming Tokyo Earthquake Logo
09 Aug2020

Update on progress in food and water safety in Fukushima

August 9, 2020. Written by Tony Smyth. Posted in Blog

After the explosions at Fukushima Dai-ichi scattered radiation in much of the prefecture, more than 40 countries refused to import food items from Japan, dealing a grievous blow to the famers and fishermen of the prefecture. In addition, many within Japan would also not buy food or fish products from Fukushima and neighbouring prefectures.

To counter this, Fukushima has had very rigorous testing of all foodstuffs in place since autumn 2011. The agricultural centre there tests as many as 200 samples of different foods a day. Also, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency come every year to check safety standards.

Post-2011 disaster, Fukushima’s food standards are among the most stringent in the world. Between April 2018 and March 2019, the prefecture tested more than nine million samples of local unpolished rice (Fukushima is one of Japans best locations for growing tasty rice). Similarly no meat goes to market without being tested.

Hence the number of countries refusing to import Fukushima food has since fallen to about 20, with Singapore recently joining countries such as the US and Australia in lifting or easing import bans.

Release of radioactive water into the Pacific

Currently, more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water is held in almost 1,000 tanks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi site, but the utility has warned that it will run out of tank space by the summer of 2022. Tepco has attempted to remove most radionuclides from the excess water, but the technology does not exist to rid the water of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.

Coastal nuclear plants commonly dump water that contains tritium into the ocean. It occurs in minute amounts in nature. Any decision to dispose of the waste water into the sea would anger local fishermen, who have spent the past eight years rebuilding their industry.

Trackback from your site.

Leave a comment

Blogs

  • The clock that stopped
  • Thoughts on the 10th anniversary of the tsunami and meltdowns of March 2011
  • What are the dangers in the planned release of water from the Fukushima site?
  • Update on progress in food and water safety in Fukushima
  • Japan to build new coal-burning power plants, despite the climate risks
  • Fukushima is running out of space to store its radioactive water
  • Fukushima gets it first surf shop since the 2011 meltdowns
  • Cancer rates at Fukushima as of March 2018
  • The Fukushima ice wall fails to keep out groundwater
  • Smashwords interview
  • Robots finally find the melted fuel cores
  • Hunters kill radioactive wild boars in Fukushima nuclear disaster zone
  • Cancer among workers at Fukushima Dai-ichi
  • Little radiation off Fukushima six years after meltdown
  • The world with over 1°C temperature rise
  • Radiation levels kill Tepco’s robots

Recent Comments

  • Avatar

    Tony Smyth

    July 16, 2017 | #

    Hey. Yes its just been finished. Hurrah. BUT I’m off to Europe tomorrow so will release it a few days after I get back. Probably round August 9th. A book launch needs many things coordinated to improve publicity and I can’t do that from Dublin/Berlin. Besides which I’ve been incredibly busy these last 10 weeks, not just physically but mentally. A well earned rest and many pints of Guiness sounds good to me. Thanks for the interest.

  • Avatar

    Jonathan L.

    July 16, 2017 | #

    Hello Tony, I’m kind of curious — any news about the editing on your book?

  • Avatar

    Tony Smyth

    April 27, 2017 | #

    Thanks Jonathan. Its been finished for a while, its just the guy doing the final conversion to ebook format is very busy, hence the delay. It will be out on Kindle first then on Smashwords. In print on Amazon a bit later.
    I’m already researching for the sequel to it which will basically argue that the current economic paradigm is broken and that major change is ahead, whether we like it or not. Provisional title is ‘Inverting the pyramid’ plus it will have some subhead which may come to me as I write it. We live in interesting times.

  • Avatar

    Jonathan L. Seagull

    April 27, 2017 | #

    Your book looks really interesting, I hope you release it on Kindle Unlimited!

  • Avatar

    GJS

    April 21, 2017 | #

    Blog up and running. Keep people informed, this stuff is real and a threat. Looking forward to the book as well.

  • Contact Tony Smyth
  • Useful Links

All contents copyright © Tony Smyth

Website by: I Clawdius Design

  • Home
  • Book Content
  • Author
  • Press Kit
  • Maps and Diagrams
  • Videos
  • Blog