A Greenpeace investigation has discovered contamination in crops on the outskirts of Minamisōma, Fukushima, in the wake of the nuclear crisis.
Tests on spinach and other vegetables showed levels of radiation far higher than official limits.
According to Greenpeace radiation expert Rianne Teule: “In several Minamisōma gardens, the vegetables were too contaminated for consumption.”
In the rural village of Tsushima, 30km from Fukushima and just outside the 30km voluntary evacuation zone, measurements found contamination levels of up to 47 microsieverts per hour, compared to the 32,7 reported officially by the authorities.
This has also highlighted the lack of government information on the risks of radiation.
Not telling full story
In a Greenpeace press release, the organisation said that while the Japanese government had published raw data from its own field monitoring, the assessment had not been comprehensive.
“Our measurements, taken between government monitoring points, show elevated levels of contamination outside the 20km mandatory evacuation zone that indicates a risk to health, yet people in Minamisōma are only being advised to stay indoors on a voluntary basis. This is unacceptable,” said radiation expert Jan Vande Putte.
Minamisōma mayor Katsunobu Sakurai expressed his frustration to Greenpeace, saying there had been a lack of information or advice from Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and the authorities. “Tepco has been irresponsible,” he said.
“This was clearly demonstrated when it took 11 days for it to speak to us after the accident. The government has also not supplied us with any kind of report that we can understand.”