Warabi, Japan (dpa) – One Japanese mother recently reported in her blog that she paid for tests that showed low levels of radioactive caesium in milk served with school lunches.
The tests paid for by Mariko, who asked that her real name not be used, found 3.2 becquerels of radioactive caesium per kilogramme in the milk, compared with the official limit of 200 becquerels per kilogramme. The limit, however, is to drop in April to 50 becquerels per kilogramme amid mounting criticism that the 200-becquerel limit is too high.
“This is the truth,” she said in her blog. “Children drink [milk] with contamination levels like this.”
Mariko lives in Kawaguchi near Tokyo, 220 kilometres south-west of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which released radioactive substances into the environment a year ago during the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
She said the government and milk producer had no intention of conducting tests to detect lower-level radioactive contamination on food and beverages served in schools so she did it herself.
The levels found from her tests, conducted this month, were below the official limit, but many parents like Mariko fear what effects the radioactive fallout from the accident is having on their children.
Hiroaki Koide, assistant professor at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, said radiation accumulating in the body from external and internal exposure weakens the immune system and can cause problems years in the future by increasing the risks of cancer.
The fallout began with Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which hit the Fukushima plant, causing meltdowns in three of its six reactors.
While some experts at the time warned of the health effects, Yukio Edano, then-chief cabinet secretary for prime minister Naoto Kan, repeatedly said the radiation “does not pose immediate health risks.”
“We had absolutely no idea what he meant,” Mariko said.
Soon, however, high levels of radioactive contamination were found in some vegetables, milk, fish, rice, meat and tea leaves, and the government banned the shipment of those goods.
Parents remained concerned about what their children eat and drink, where they play and where they go for school trips.
“Many parents were stressed-out, and there were very few [officials] we could talk to,” Mariko said.
Their concerns were dismissed by some city officials and doctors who said they were worrying too much. Experts, however, sounded an alarm. A weakened immune system is a top concern, they said.
“For example, if you catch a cold, you could not get rid of it,” said Mikiko Watanabe, a researcher at the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Centre in Tokyo, which campaigns for a nuclear-free world. “Some people would have multiple illnesses. That is clear from data gathered from victims of the Chernobyl disaster.”
Children and foetuses are especially vulnerable to radiation exposure because their cells divide frequently as they develop. Radiation can disrupt that process, increasing the risk of birth defects, leukaemia, other cancers and retardation.
In July, Mariko and her husband decided to have tests conducted on their 10-year-old daughter’s urine.
“When the tests’ findings were sent by fax, I was so shocked to see them that my fingers turned cold,” she said.
The tests found 0.25 becquerels of radioactive caesium-134 per kilogramme of urine and 0.41 becquerels of caesium-137.
While the amount is considered to be minuscule, Mariko asked what continued radiation exposure and ingestion could do to someone so young. “Who knows?” she asked. “Who can protect children?”
The couple sent other urine samples to be tested after a summer vacation during which their daughter had not eaten school lunches. This time, the amount of caesium-137 was halved.
The husband brought the two tests’ results to city officials and demanded radiation testing of school lunches. The city then took action.
Other mothers formed the local group Team Kawahato to discuss radiation exposure, relying on experts’ blogs, books and speeches.
“I don’t believe what the government and the media are saying,” said Kotori, a mother of three children and a member of the group.
Kotori, who provided only her Twitter user name, meets Warabi Mayor Hideo Yoritaka every month to convey her concerns and requests about radiation to him.
Warabi took action relatively early. City officials regularly measure radiation levels at parks, nurseries, primary schools and junior high schools. They recently conducted measurements at about 1,200 spots in the city and did decontamination when necessary. The city also conducts radiation tests of school lunches.
While the city considers the measurements necessary, it “also wants to dispel as much of their [parents’] anxiety as possible,” city official Ryota Yamagata said.
Kotori is critical of other parents for their lack of awareness.
“I was stunned that some parents did not even know the city’s radiation testing of school lunches and decontamination at school,” she said. “They just think they are problems only in Fukushima.”
Takehiko Kambayashi 