Japanese radioactive cows

This is a video about radioactive beef in Japan.

From Kyodo news agency in Japan:

411 more cows in Fukushima found to have been fed cesium-tainted straw

July 18 2011 05:53 AM US/Eastern

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, July 18 —Seven more farms in Fukushima Prefecture fed their beef cattle rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium, bringing a total of about 411 more cows suspected of having been exposed to the isotope into the nation’s beef distribution chain, the Fukushima prefectural government said Monday.

Of the cows shipped from the farms, 199 went to Tokyo, 192 to Hyogo Prefecture, nine to Gunma Prefecture, eight within Fukushima Prefecture, two to Tochigi Prefecture and one to Saitama Prefecture.

The straw that remained at the farms was found to contain the isotope measuring as high as 690,000 becquerels per kilogram, far above allowable limits and the highest concentration found so far in the current turmoil.

In trying to alleviate mounting concerns over contaminated beef, the government is set to suspend shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture as early as Tuesday, on the basis of a law governing measures in nuclear disasters.

The straw was apparently contaminated following the release of massive amounts of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant soon after it was crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March.

Two of the farms are located in Koriyama and the rest each in Nihonmatsu, Motomiya, Sukagawa, Shirakawa and the town of Aizubange. The highest level of radioactive cesium was found from straw left at the farm in Motomiya.

One of the farms had bought straw from a dealer in Miyagi Prefecture and another from a dealer within Fukushima Prefecture, the prefectural government said.

It added that six of the farms were not aware of a government notice in March that warned against giving livestock feed that had been kept outdoors.

The prefectural government has banned the seven farms from feeding their livestock with rice straw and asked them to refrain from shipping or transporting their beef cattle.

The central government is considering halting beef cattle shipments from areas beyond Fukushima Prefecture, after ascertaining how widespread the contaminated straw is, according to government sources.

Meanwhile, the Niigata prefectural government said it has detected elevated levels of radioactive cesium from straw produced in Miyagi Prefecture and given to cattle at two farms. Of the two farms, one has already shipped 24 cows.

The Miyagi prefectural government has begun interviewing all 915 farms that raise beef cattle in the prefecture on whether they have fed their cows rice straw that had been bundled after the nuclear disaster.

It is expected to announce the outcome soon, possibly Tuesday, local government officials said.

Separately, 84 cows from five cattle farms in Fukushima Prefecture have been shipped to at least 17 prefectures. The meat of one of them contained levels of radioactive cesium greater than the government-set limit, while the levels of the isotope contained in the meat of two other cows were within the limit.

Japan’s contaminated beef scare widens: here.

Video: Post-Fukushima Japan ponders geothermal power: here.