Thursday, March 15, 2012

#Radioactive Wild Rabbit in Yamagata Prefecture

A wild rabbit caught in Yonezawa City in Yamagata Prefecture was found with 560 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, exceeding the national provisional limit of 500 becquerels/kg (until April 1).

City officials think the rabbit migrated from Fukushima Prefecture.

From Yomiuri Shinbun medical section (3/15/2012):

野ウサギ 規制超すセシウム…山形 野生動物からは県内初

A wild rabbit found with cesium exceeding the safety limit in Yamagata, the first in the prefecture in wild animals

 山形県は14日、米沢市で捕獲された野ウサギから、国の暫定規制値(1キロ・グラム当たり500ベクレル)を超える1キロ・グラム当たり560ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。県内の野性動物から基準を超える放射性物質が検出されたのは初めて。県は、県内各地の猟友会などに対し、当分の間、野ウサギを食べることを自粛するよう通知した。

Yamagata Prefecture announced on March 14 that 560 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found in a wild rabbit caught in Yonezawa City. This is the first time that radioactive materials exceeding the safety limit (500 becquerels/kg) were found in wild animals in the prefecture. The prefectural government has notified the hunters' associations in the prefecture to voluntarily refrain from eating the meat of wild rabbits until further notice.

 県みどり自然課によると、野ウサギは11日、同市内の福島県境付近で捕獲され、県が放射性物質検査を実施した。同課では、「ウサギが福島県側から移動してきた可能性がある」と説明している。

According to the prefectural government, the wild rabbit was caught near the border of Fukushima Prefecture on March 11, and the government conducted the test for radioactive materials. The officials explains that it is possible that the rabbit migrated from Fukushima Prefecture.

 県は昨年秋以降、キジやツキノワグマなど計25体の野性動物について放射性物質検査を実施してきたが、いずれも放射性セシウムの濃度は、国の暫定規制値以下だった。

The prefectural government has conducted the tests for radioactive materials since last fall on 25 wild animals including pheasants and Japanese bears, but the density of radioactive cesium has been below the national provisional limit.

5 comments:

Atomfritz said...

25 wild animals tested only?
Are there no hunters in Japan who eat their booty?

In Bavaria every wild animal shot or caught for human consumption must be tested for radioactivity by law.
Thousands of animals get tested each year, many get seized (and incinerated).
5-digit Bq numbers (due to Chernobyl fallout) haven't yet become a rarity here.

Anonymous said...

I have a keen interest in the above, can you point me to a website that has some recent figures?

Atomfritz said...

This is according to the information of the German Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS, German Federal Ministry for Radiation Protection) so I think the data is trustable.

http://www.bfs.de/de/ion/nahrungsmittel/pilze_wildbret.html (in German)

Part translated:
...in the Bavarian Forest in the year 2004 there were found 80 to 40,000 Bq/kg in boars, with an average of 7,000 Bq/kg. Recent maximum contamination found was 65,000 Bq/kg. In deer the 2004 average was 700 Bq/kg.

Darth3/11 said...

How do they test each animal in Bavaria? Wave a geiger counter over them? Is there a testing site in every city, town, village, hamlet? If they have a testing system that works quickly and reliably, perhaps it could be used to more efficiently and accurately test all the meat and plants for consumption. Then, with a label attached with origin and readings, people could finally make an informed decision about what they are buying.

For now, I simply avoid Fukushima products, kizuna nashi.

Atomfritz said...

I am no hunter, but I sometimes read in newspapers about the hunters complaining for having to drive the animals shot to the next city with a veterinary office equipped with a lab, pay for testing, and if it's above limit, pay a second time for incineration.

Many hunters have quit hunting because of this.

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