Saturday, July 23, 2011

Over 2,600 Meat Cows Suspected of Being Fed with Radioactive Rice Hay

The number was 1,697 yesterday, and to that, 944 cows from Miyagi Prefecture alone were added overnight, bringing the total to at least 2,641.

Tokyo Shinbun, citing Kyodo News (7/23/2011):

宮城県は23日、原発事故後に集めた稲わらを肉牛に与えていた県内の農家から、新たに汚染の疑いがある944頭が東京、山形、宮城、神奈川、千葉、新潟の1都5県に出荷されたと発表した。県の出荷総数は計1183頭となった。

Miyagi Prefecture announced on July 23 that additional 944 meat cows from Miyagi Prefecture suspected of being fed with rice hay collected after the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident had been shipped to 6 prefectures - Tokyo, Yamagata, Miyagi, Kanagawa, Chiba and Niigata. The total number of potentially contaminated cows shipped from Miyagi is now 1,183.

 県によると、新たに17戸の農家が保管していた稲わらから国の暫定基準値を超える放射性セシウムが検出され、うち16戸が計626頭を出荷していた。

According to Miyagi Prefecture, radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional safety limit for the feed [300 becquerels/kg] was found from the rice hay kept at 17 cattle farms. Total 626 cows had been shipped from 16 of those farms.

 このほか、在庫の稲わらが残っていなかった農家15戸が318頭の肉牛を出荷。稲わらの検査はしていないが、この15戸についても県は汚染した稲わらを肉牛に与えていた可能性が高いと判断した。

In addition, 318 cows had been shipped from 15 cattle farms whose rice hay wasn't tested because it was all used up. The prefectural government decided it is highly possible that the rice hay fed to the cows was contaminated with cesium.

Miyagi Prefecture has the detailed test results (in Japanese) on its website. The highest radioactive cesium level from the most recent test was 7,822 becquerels/kg in Shiroshi City, located near the prefectural border to Fukushima near the cities that have been found with high radiation areas (Date City, Fukushima City, etc.).

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What has been the yearly average number of cows for meat in various parts of Japan? This constant dribble, dribble... is just another tactic by this corrupt government to downplay the news as much as possible.

And they transported this contaminated rice hay all over the country. Hay dusted with hot particles thus like so many zillions of dust "mops" spread all over the place.

Anonymous said...

Just as what goes up must come down, what goes in.....

So it begs the question: what was done with the undoubtedly radioactive manure from the livestock that ate the contaminated rice hay? If it was as high as 700,000 Bq/hr in the feed, this sounds like a big widening of the contamination.

zzyzx

nika said...

zzyzx: wow - i had not thought about that yet and you are right. since this is hot cesium - it will be meaningfully hot for the next 30 years - will need to be composted at least that long

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Oh sh-t.. it's used as compost.

Anonymous said...

And eggshells, too. Though the government is trying hard steer our attention only to beef, but certainly chicken and pork must be contaminated. Egg shells, as Dr. Ono pointed out, easily absorb strontium and are used for feed and various additives.

Anonymous said...

Thats right, like the radioactive milk in March, that was poured into the liquid manure in front of NHK cameras. Back than I was already expecting that all the Iodine and Cs will be brought to the fields as 'fertilizer'.

Farmers need to be educated that the radioactive material is not like chemical and biological material that can be neutralized and destroyed by bacteria or heat...

If they keep 'fertilizing' their fields with that stuff (Cs, Sr, ...) and after ploughing their fields, it will not be sufficient to remove just the top 10cm of soil for decontamination.

This is crazy and could have been prevented so easily. But it seems they are determined to dilute all the radioactive stuff by spreading it homogeneously over whole Japan. How sad...

Anonymous said...

Japanese like to to be part of the 'group' -this mentality also exists to put the Japanese mind in denial........

Anonymous said...

Do they have to list "radioactivity" as an ingredient if they know it's there?

Anonymous said...

Canadian Beef is shipped to Japan and sold in Japanese supermarkets. According to an April 2011 article in the trade magazine "Alberta Beef," Canada shipped 17,200 metric tons of beef to Japan in 2010, while 24,000 tons was shipped in 2002 -- a decrease reflecting fears of BSE. The Canadian beef industry has been hoping for shipments to increase to 27,000 metric tons. Now that Japan's own beef supply is contaminated, the people must demand Canadian beef products.

As for Japanese beef being exported to the U.S., this has been marketed as "Kobe beef" from prized Wagyu cattle, internationally recognized for its extreme tenderness, marbling, and buttery flavour. This expensive Japanese beef is sold to high-end consumers, upscale butcher shops, restaurants, etc.

Aside from the radioactive rice hay being fed to Japanese cattle, Japanese Wagyu beef are raised in Hyogo Prefecture, about 100 km northwest of Tokyo.

North American consumers need to beware of so-called "Angus beef"; since some beef suppliers in the U.S. and Canada cross Japanese cattle with Angus cattle. If the Japanese cattle have become contaminated, this will affect their Angus beef supplies, which is now marketed as "American Kobe Beef."

nika said...

offspring of US cattle AI'd with wagyu sperm will NOT yield radioactive beef

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