The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said it would not ban Japanese seafood and aquatic products, but would continue to monitor the situation, as Japan is to start releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant today.
An estimated 1.34 million tonnes of water used for cooling the highly radioactive reactor cores are stored in tanks since a 2011 tsunami crippled the power plant, and Japan plans to release the filtered and diluted water in next 30 years.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear agency, approved the plan last month and said that the water has been treated through an Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove almost all radioactivity, aside from tritium, which would be diluted to below regulatory standards before the release, so that “the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.”
Photo: Reuters
However, Hong Kong banned seafood and aquatic products imported from 10 Japanese prefectures, starting from today and the ban would also be implemented in Macau.
FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) yesterday said prior to the releasing of water containing tritium, the FDA initiated a four-year inspection plan and so far 52 imported aquatic products have been tested for radioactivity and 73 items more would be tested this year, with the goal of testing 100 items every year.
FDA Food Safety Division head Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智) said the agency has commissioned a National Taiwan University team to execute the inspection plan last year and experts determined the inspection criteria considering multiple factors such as dispersion of seawater, water release location, aquatic species’ growth habit, and fishing methods.
The 52 items that have been tested so far include Japanese mackerel, salmon, saury, sea eel, oyster, octopus, clams and seaweed, he said, adding that they all contained tritium below minimum detectable amount.
Lin said the 52 items tested can serve as a reference for the 73 items that would be tested later this year, to understand if radiation levels increased and whether responsive measures are needed.
As there has been no change in risks, the border control procedure for imported Japanese seafood is to remain the same for now, he said.
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