Japan sets radioactive limits for seafood

TOKYO, April 5 (UPI) -- Japan set a legal limit for radioactive iodine levels in seafood Tuesday amid international concern about seawater tainted by a crippled nuclear reactor.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the limit of 2,000 Becquerels per kilogram [about 2.2 pounds] set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for radioactive iodine in marine products is the same level adopted for vegetables, Kyodo News reported.

A Becquerel is an International System-derived unit of radioactivity.

Concern is growing internationally about seawater contamination and the safety of seafood as Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant began discharging water containing a low level of radioactive materials into the Pacific Ocean to try to contain highly contaminated water at the complex crippled by the March 11 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami..

The limit imposition followed the detection by Japanese authorities of 4,080 Becquerels per kilogram of radioactive iodine in immature sand lance caught Friday in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Another catch of young sand lance in the same area were contaminated with 526 Becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium, exceeding Japan's legal limit of 500 Becquerels, Kyodo said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano dismissed the need to impose an immediate ban on seafood shipments from the affected areas, but pledged to toughen inspections so contaminated products don't reach markets.

"We want to proceed by monitoring [contamination levels] closely and grasping the broader situation rather than immediately regulating" shipments, he said.