Radioactive Spinach and Milk In Japan

Initial testing of produce and milk from farms near Japan's damaged reactors reveal high levels of radioactivity:

"The milk that contained higher levels of radioactive material was tested at farms about 19 miles from the hobbled nuclear plants in Fukushima Prefecture. The spinach was found in Ibaraki Prefecture, at farms 60 to 90 miles south of the plants.

Food safety inspectors said the amount of iodine-131 found in the tested milk was five times higher than levels deemed safe. They said the iodine found in the spinach was more than seven times higher. The spinach also contained slightly higher amounts of cesium-137."
- Japan Finds Contaminated Food Up to 90 Miles From Nuclear Sites, New York Times, March 19

The produce from Fukushima and surrounding areas is still being sold. Japan imports a lot of food except for produce; almost 80% is homegrown. They'll be testing their beef soon. If milk is contaminated, I don't know how other parts of the cow wouldn't be.

Unfortunately, the potassium iodide tablets the Japanese government is advising its citizens to take will do nothing for the cesium-137 contamination:

"Potassium iodide helps safeguard against only one type of radiation product, and it only protects the thyroid. More dangerous is radioactive cesium, a chemical element that is absorbed throughout the body and can remain in organs and tissues much longer.

Radioactive cesium can also accumulate in some types of vegetation that domestic animals eat; if so, it can contaminate milk and meat."
- Dr. Weil: Protection Against Radiation, March 17, 2011

The fallout from this earthquake gets bigger every day.

Update, March 23: Since I wrote this, the government has halted shipment of spinach, parsley, milk, and several other vegetables from affected areas and told people in Fukushima not to eat them.
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