The most recent estimates from the US Department of Energy (DOE) assert that the levels of radiation outside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are well below the threshold that would pose an immediate risk to the local residents. But reports of radionuclides in soil, water and food products are raising concerns among consumers and importers alike. While the levels of radioisotopes being detected in soil and crops are above legal standards, they are still below dangerous levels, according to most reports. The United States became the first country to linkurl:block the import;http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-halts-milk-produce-imports-from-areas-of-japan-near-crippled of milk and fresh produce from the areas around the plant, however, followed quickly by linkurl:Hong Kong.;http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/hong-kong-bars-some-japan-produce-after-finding-elevated-radiation-levels.html What does this mean for Japan's food industry, as well as the local flora and fauna?Effects on agriculture The 1986 Chernobyl disaster released radionuclides that spread to some 125,000 square kilometers of land in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, more than...
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Image: Wikimedia Commons, contri |
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Image: Courtesy of Timothy Mousseau |
Biology Letters
Radiat Environ Biophys
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