Additional information from Asahi Shinbun (4/12/2012):
The company planted the herb outdoors in MAY (not March) last year.
The president of the company said he tested the tea because TEPCO had told him he wouldn't get compensated unless he produced the result of the radiation test.
There is another company in southern Miyagi (bordering Fukushima) who makes and sells the similar product.
Browsing the popular online mall in Japan, I see the same powdered tea being sold, and one of the brands says it is made in Ibaraki Prefecture. I think they'd better test that one, too, in case.
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Jiji Tsushin (4/14/2012):
ヤーコン茶は２万ベクレル＝宮城県
Miyagi Prefecture: 20,000 Bq/kg from the herbal tea
宮城県蔵王町の業者が製造したヤーコン茶から高濃度の放射性セシウムが検出された問題で、県は１４日、セシウム濃度は国の基準値（１キロ当たり１００ベクレル）の２００倍超の２万２９０ベクレルだったと発表した。
Miyagi Prefecture announced on April 14 that 20,290 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the herbal tea produced by a manufacturer in Zao-machi in Miyagi Prefecture, more than 200 times the national safety limit (100 becquerels/kg).
業者の自主検査では１万７２００ベクレルだった。県によると、出荷済みの１１００セットのうち、同日までに約４０セットが回収された。
It was 17,200 becquerels/kg according to the manufacturer's own testing. By April 14, about 40 sets of 1,100 sets of the tea already shipped had been recalled.
The herbal tea is in the powder form. About 1.5 grams of the tea powder is used to make one cup of tea, making each drink with 30 becquerels of radioactive cesium. Nothing to worry about, the prefectural government says, as if all the radioactive cesium people ingest is from this tea alone.
I suppose the prefectural government doesn't test unless they are told by the national government to test, and the national government probably didn't know about this tea. Just like they (claim they) didn't know about rice hay fed to the cows. Or leaf compost. Or shiitake cultivation substrate. Or crushed stones. Or firewood to smoke bonito. Or ....
Wow..think of all that tea that they didn't test. And all the isotopes they didn't test for....like plutonium, uranium....*sigh*
ReplyDeleteAren't tea processing workers going to become ill? They handle this stuff 'full strength' and if ground into powder, the tea is accidentally inhaled, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIf, realistically speaking, many governments are pro Nuclear power, then people in those countries have to accept the higher radiation doses in exported in food and other goods from Japan. We cannot condemn only the Japanese people to the risks coming as a result of a nuclear accident.
ReplyDeleteIf you own stocks in a company you will have to accept the losses as well as you accept the gains.
This is disappointing. I didn't expect to see levels this high...
ReplyDeleteIt does make me glad that my family and I sold our "mansion" (condominium) and moved to the states last year. I miss a lot of good parts of Japan, but I couldn't, as a parent, allow my young children to stay in Kanto.
The radiation levels in Tokyo may not have been as bad as I worried they could have been, but all these food/tea stories, combined with this idiotic distributing and burning of radioactive materials all over the country means that doesn't mean as much as it otherwise would have...
What a bunch of idiots! To think that there is a , "national safety limit" for radiation exposure....fuc*ing stupid!
ReplyDeleteAny radiation is deadly because, it accumulates in the body. Very simple concept!
People will begin to die like flies soon. Then, people will become reactionary but, it will be way to fuc*ing late!
Good riddance.
Is this why MEXT never produced a cesium map of Miyagi? Welcome to "baseless rumor" land Miyagi.
ReplyDeleteHerbal tea tastes like sh*t anyway. Hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAnyone drinking or eating anything from that area should know better besides.
It's a contaminated deadzone ffs. The land is unihabitable and the food is inedible. That is all you need to know.
There are many people living and working in Miyagi.
ReplyDeleteThey grow rice and many other things.
It is of great concern that they have found this contamination.
Another sad piece of news.
ReplyDeleteapparently only 40/1100 cases were sold at all. Even still, will the customers have access to this information?
Can't even have a cup of tea in Eastern Japan!
It would seem that most of Japan is poisoned by radioactive fallout. There will be millions of deaths in the next ten years in Japan. We must stop all new nuclear plant construction and get rid of the old ones. We are not close to ready for the nuclear age just yet.
ReplyDeleteSadly this is just what Japan needs to bring her population back into manageable proportions for a post peak oil world. Japan can no longer afford the luxury of living in la la land. That was only made possible on the back of cheap oil. A no.2 or no.3 economy without virtually ANY natural energy base/natural resources.
ReplyDeleteJapan had better to re think her energy and economic policy. Which is what? A population repulsed by Nuclear. No oil. No coal. Cheap imports while the Yen strength lasts. Hell when it ends. An encroaching trade deficit. No savings left. No population growth to pull herself out demographically. etc etc.
Still in the meantime...make hay while the sun shines...and the BofJ prints its way into oblivion.
Instead of all this dream chasing growth BS, Japan should go for broke and get on with the new paradigm. Solar, renewables etc transitioning into the next stage; degrowth embracing contraction, conservation, living in harmony with nature and her other resources. After all this is what Japan used to be good at in the Edo era.
Inspire the past. The way forward is the way back etcetera...
@anon at 4:36AM, it's easy to talk about the "population" in aggregate.
ReplyDeleteWhat you're talking about sounds more like the UN agenda.
@anon at 4:36
ReplyDeleteChasing growth is as you say, the way of the past. The new way forward is Solar and renewables without nuclear.
Japanese engineers and scientist should only work on sustainable living.
Moving forward to Edo.
Really informative post.
ReplyDeleteHerbal Products Market
Awesome information about Herbal Tea that i am sure user will be keep update ideas after reading my post i will be back here ASAP..
ReplyDeleteI personally like its taste.
ReplyDelete