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Friday, 1st April 2011
In General Japan News, Japan Travel News,
Sushi radiation risk 'negligible', expert says
Food lovers planning to visit Japan in the coming months may be relieved to hear that the food-chain contamination risk to sushi following the Fukushima nuclear crisis has been described as "negligible".
Robert Peter Gale, a visiting haematology professor at Imperial College London, told Bloomberg that the radiation levels are so low that it would take an incredible amount of sushi to make anyone ill.
"No one could afford to consume enough sushi to get radiation damage," he claimed.
Mr Gale has significant experience of dealing with nuclear fallout, having overseen medical relief efforts at Chernobyl.
The Japanese government yesterday confirmed that four out of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant would have to be decommissioned after they were severely damaged by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Meanwhile, the government is considering lifting the bans on shipments of vegetables and milk from the Fukushima area, provided they pass three safety tests, the Associated Press reports.
Written by Kimberley Homer
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