福岛海水核污染引发对日本捕鱼业担忧

有容乃大

Radiation in sea fuels fears over fishing in Japan

The discovery of high radiation levels in the sea off Japan’s earthquake-stricken nuclear power plant has fuelled fears about the impact on the nation’s fishing industry.


Operator Tokyo Electric Power said unusual amounts of five kinds of radioactive material had been found in water samples near the Fukushima Daiichi plant. One of the substances, iodine-131, was found at nearly 127 times the permitted level.


Officials said there was no immediate threat to human health from the apparent contamination of the water by radiation leaking from the power station, which had its cooling systems knocked out by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

But the discovery is a blow to the fishing industry, heightening concerns about the implications of the atomic crisis for food safety. The agriculture and fisheries ministry has received many calls from worried consumers, an official said.

South Korean retailer Lotte Mart said it had stopped selling Japanese pollack owing to customers’ concerns, even though the fish passed safety checks. Japan’s government has already halted shipments of milk from Fukushima prefecture after abnormal radiation levels were found at a farm 30km from the plant.

Shunichi Yamashita, an expert on radiation exposure, suggested that the health implications of leaks into the sea would be limited, as iodine-131 has a short half-life, meaning its radioactivity reduces quickly. “I’m not sure if it will take one week or one month, but definitely the levels will go down below the regulation limits,” he said.




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中文

在地震中受损的日本核电站附近的海水中发现了较高水平的核辐射，令人担心日本的捕鱼业会因此受到影响。

福岛第一核电站的运营商东京电力公司(Tepco)表示，他们已从该核电站附近海水的样本中检测出了5种浓度异常的放射性物质。其中，碘131的浓度几乎相当于允许水平的127倍。

官员们表示，显然受到该核电站辐射泄漏污染的海水，并不会立即威胁人体健康。3月11日发生的地震和海啸，导致该核电站的冷却系统失效。

但对日本捕鱼业来说，上述发现可谓一个打击，令人加剧担心此次核危机对食品安全造成不利影响。一位官员表示，日本农林水产省已接到许多忧心忡忡的消费者打来的电话。

韩国零售商乐天玛特(Lotte Mart)表示，考虑到顾客们的担心，已停止销售日本明太鱼，即使这些鱼已经通过了安全检查。在发现距福岛第一核电站30公里的一个农场辐射水平异常后，日本政府已暂停福岛县产牛奶的销售。

辐射照射专家Shunichi Yamashita表示，该核电站泄漏到海水中的放射性物质对健康的影响将是有限的，因为碘131半衰期较短，也就是说它的放射性衰减得很快。他说：“我不知道到底需要一周还是一个月，但辐射水平肯定会低于法定上限。”