script

Radioactive Food (2011-03-22)

For mainstream foreign media, Japan's nuclear crisis seems to have lost its juiciness although the problem is far from over (but seems to have stabilized).  Now that reporters' attention is directed back to Libya and their madman Gadhafi, Fukushima power plant no longer dominates the headline.  I sure hope U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is right when he said the worst is probably over in Japan.

While the nuclear cirsis is enormous, I think the foreign press have focused too much on it and largely under-reported on the real victims: the 20,000 missing or dead and the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their home and the humanitarian help they need.

Bad news "sells" paper, sensationalized headlines and hyped-up words get readers glued to it.  Before people get all panicky AGAIN by words like "Contaminated food", "Cancer-causing", "Questionable safety" about the detected elevated level of radioactive particles in spinach and milk near Fukushima Prefecture, they should spend some time familiarizing themselves with subjects regarding food and radiation to make informed decision about the danger (What is the international standard on radiation and food?  What is the effect on health?  How much is considered harmful?). 

There is certainly risk to human health when consuming radioactive food products over a long period of time.  The responsible thing everyone should do is to exercise caution and to keep abreast of the latest data and results from reliable sources instead of believing newspaper reports blindly and jumping into conclusion.

Here is the latest result of water tested in Shinjuku (kanji).  Since it looks like the nuclear reactor trouble is under control (I saw Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio smiled for the first time yesterday at a press conference!), logically speaking, levels of radioactive materials (iodine and cesium) in agricultural products and water should not get higher.  Let's hope so.

The following sites are sources of information that I find useful:

IAEA

World Health Organization

Fear helps us survive, panic does not.  I wouldn't go so far as to say those who fled Japan at the first sight of trouble is behaving irrationally, but it is certainly something a level-headed and well-informed person doesn't do.

P.S. An interesting "assignment" for you:  check to see the radiation level in YOUR city.  See if it's higher than Tokyo!



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