500 Used Cars to Be Shipped from Nagoya Port Have Exceeded Radiation Limit Since August Last Year

That's when they started testing, and 500 used cars from Nagoya Port alone.

Japanese used cars are popular in Russia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Despite the nuclear accident, the number of exported used cars in 2011 increased slightly over 2010 to 857,779 cars according to the Used Car Export Industry News, with Russia at the top with over 110K followed by the United Arab Emirates.

Kyodo News (2/25/2012):

名古屋港管理組合は２５日、同港から船積み予定の中古車を対象とした放射性物質検査で、昨年８月～今年１月、５００台を超える車から、業界が設定した基準の毎時０・３マイクロシーベルト以上が検出され、荷主に返したことを明らかにした。

Nagoya Port Authority disclosed on February 25 that 500 used cars were found with radiation levels at or exceeding 0.3 microsievert/hour, the standard set by the [used car] industry from August last year to January this year, and that the cars were returned to the shippers.

　国内外へ輸送される予定だった。同組合は、荷主に返した車のその後の流通状況を確認していない。

The used cars were to be exported outside Japan or to be transported to different parts of Japan. Nagoya Port Authority does not keep track of the cars returned to the shippers.

　同組合によると、東京電力福島第１原発事故を受け、日本港運協会と全国港湾労働組合連合会などが労働者の安全確保を目的に、０・３マイクロシーベルトなどの基準を設け、各地の港湾で昨年８月から線量測定が実施されている。

According to Nagoya Port Authority, 0.3 microsievert/hour standard was set by the Japan Harbor Transportation Association and All Japan Dockworkers' Union (JDU) to secure the safety of the dockworkers. The radiation testing has been done at ports in Japan since August last year.

Isn't that nice that 0.3 microsievert/hour is not for the safety of the buyers of the cars but for the dockworkers handling the cars and loading them?

It is also nice to know that the radiation levels of the used cars are measured ONLY IF the cars are transported from a port by ships. There is no testing at all if used cars are transported by land within Japan.

The earliest news I caught on this blog of radioactive used cars is from NHK News on April 24, 2011 when Russian authorities in the port of Nakhodka in Siberian Russia found 2 used cars emitting high radiation. The cars came from Niigata Port on April 16, and they were originally from Fukushima Prefecture.

Before the NHK news, there were "rumors" that were officially dismissed. One of the rumors on blogs and tweets that I heard was almost exactly what got finally reported by NHK, that there were many used cars exported from Japan after March 11, 2011 accident that are emitting very high radiation.

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