ID :
195662
Mon, 07/18/2011 - 18:12
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https://oananews.org//node/195662
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435 more cows confirmed shipped from Fukushima, Niigata farms+
FUKUSHIMA/NIIGATA, Japan, July 18 Kyodo -
More cows were confirmed Monday to have been shipped after being fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium, with 411 from seven farms in Fukushima Prefecture and 24 from a farm in Niigata Prefecture.
The prefectural government of Fukushima said seven more farms fed their beef cattle the rice straw, while the Niigata prefectural government said it has detected elevated levels of radioactive cesium from straw produced in Miyagi Prefecture and given to cattle at two farms, one of which has already shipped the 24 cows.
The Niigata prefectural government has requested that the two farms refrain from shipping and transporting their cows.
In trying to alleviate mounting concerns over possibly contaminated beef, the government is set to suspend shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture as early as Tuesday, on the basis of a law governing measures in nuclear disasters.
The latest development in Niigata Prefecture, however, will force the government to take further measures to tackle the issue.
The straw was apparently contaminated following the release of massive amounts of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant soon after it was crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March.
The straw that remained at the Fukushima farms was found to contain the isotope measuring as high as 690,000 becquerels per kilogram, far above allowable limits and the highest concentration found so far in the current turmoil.
In Niigata, the isotope measuring as high as 4,682 becquerels per kg was detected.
Of the cows shipped from the Fukushima farms, 199 went to Tokyo, 192 to Hyogo Prefecture, nine to Gunma Prefecture, eight within Fukushima Prefecture, two to Tochigi Prefecture and one to Saitama Prefecture.
Two of the seven farms are located in Koriyama and the rest each in Nihonmatsu, Motomiya, Sukagawa, Shirakawa and the town of Aizubange. The highest level of radioactive cesium was found from straw left at the farm in Motomiya.
One of the farms had bought straw from a dealer in Miyagi Prefecture and another from a dealer within Fukushima Prefecture, the prefectural government said.
It added that six of the farms were not aware of a government notice in March that warned against giving livestock feed that had been kept outdoors.
The prefectural government has banned the seven farms from feeding their livestock with rice straw and asked them to refrain from shipping or transporting their beef cattle.
The central government is considering halting beef cattle shipments from areas beyond Fukushima Prefecture, after ascertaining how widespread the contaminated straw is, according to government sources.
The Miyagi prefectural government has begun interviewing all 915 farms that raise beef cattle in the prefecture on whether they have fed their cows rice straw that had been bundled after the nuclear disaster.
It is expected to announce the outcome soon, possibly Tuesday, local government officials said.
Separately, 84 cows from five cattle farms in Fukushima Prefecture have been shipped to at least 17 prefectures. The meat of one of them contained levels of radioactive cesium greater than the government-set limit, while the levels of the isotope contained in the meat of two other cows were within the limit.
Parts of the meat from the 84 cows have been provided to consumers in Ishikawa, Gifu, Mie and Wakayama prefectures so far. Of them, the municipal government of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, said 8.2 kg of the meat was served to around 170 people at two wedding centers in the city.
==Kyodo
2011-07-18 22:04:40
More cows were confirmed Monday to have been shipped after being fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium, with 411 from seven farms in Fukushima Prefecture and 24 from a farm in Niigata Prefecture.
The prefectural government of Fukushima said seven more farms fed their beef cattle the rice straw, while the Niigata prefectural government said it has detected elevated levels of radioactive cesium from straw produced in Miyagi Prefecture and given to cattle at two farms, one of which has already shipped the 24 cows.
The Niigata prefectural government has requested that the two farms refrain from shipping and transporting their cows.
In trying to alleviate mounting concerns over possibly contaminated beef, the government is set to suspend shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture as early as Tuesday, on the basis of a law governing measures in nuclear disasters.
The latest development in Niigata Prefecture, however, will force the government to take further measures to tackle the issue.
The straw was apparently contaminated following the release of massive amounts of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant soon after it was crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March.
The straw that remained at the Fukushima farms was found to contain the isotope measuring as high as 690,000 becquerels per kilogram, far above allowable limits and the highest concentration found so far in the current turmoil.
In Niigata, the isotope measuring as high as 4,682 becquerels per kg was detected.
Of the cows shipped from the Fukushima farms, 199 went to Tokyo, 192 to Hyogo Prefecture, nine to Gunma Prefecture, eight within Fukushima Prefecture, two to Tochigi Prefecture and one to Saitama Prefecture.
Two of the seven farms are located in Koriyama and the rest each in Nihonmatsu, Motomiya, Sukagawa, Shirakawa and the town of Aizubange. The highest level of radioactive cesium was found from straw left at the farm in Motomiya.
One of the farms had bought straw from a dealer in Miyagi Prefecture and another from a dealer within Fukushima Prefecture, the prefectural government said.
It added that six of the farms were not aware of a government notice in March that warned against giving livestock feed that had been kept outdoors.
The prefectural government has banned the seven farms from feeding their livestock with rice straw and asked them to refrain from shipping or transporting their beef cattle.
The central government is considering halting beef cattle shipments from areas beyond Fukushima Prefecture, after ascertaining how widespread the contaminated straw is, according to government sources.
The Miyagi prefectural government has begun interviewing all 915 farms that raise beef cattle in the prefecture on whether they have fed their cows rice straw that had been bundled after the nuclear disaster.
It is expected to announce the outcome soon, possibly Tuesday, local government officials said.
Separately, 84 cows from five cattle farms in Fukushima Prefecture have been shipped to at least 17 prefectures. The meat of one of them contained levels of radioactive cesium greater than the government-set limit, while the levels of the isotope contained in the meat of two other cows were within the limit.
Parts of the meat from the 84 cows have been provided to consumers in Ishikawa, Gifu, Mie and Wakayama prefectures so far. Of them, the municipal government of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, said 8.2 kg of the meat was served to around 170 people at two wedding centers in the city.
==Kyodo
2011-07-18 22:04:40
