Shizuoka, Kanagawa governments oppose radiation screening order for tea leaves

[Robbien]

Source: Mainichi Japan Times

The Shizuoka and Kanagawa prefectural governments have called on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to withdraw its request for local authorities in northeastern and eastern Japan to check radiation levels in green tea leaves during processing.

After the amount of radioactive cesium exceeding the legal limit was detected in green tea leaves harvested in Ibaraki and Kanagawa prefectures, the health ministry ordered Tokyo and 13 prefectures in northeastern and eastern Japan on May 16 to ban shipments of half-processed steam dried green tea leaves, known as "Aracha," if cesium tops the national permissible limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram.

The cesium concentration in steam dried green tea can become about five times as high as that in raw leaves, prompting the ministry to order the prefectures to check radiation levels in Aracha.

. . .

On the same day, Kanagawa Gov. Yuji Kuroiwa submitted a petition to the health minister and the agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister, requesting Aracha be excluded from radiation screening.



Read more: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110518p2a00m0na005000c.html

---

Well that didn't take long. It took only a day after finding that the tea is radioactive for TPTB to browbeat the authorities into stopping the testing.

In other news

Radioactive Substances Found in Breast Milk of 5 Japanese Women
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/05/19/radioactive-substances-breast-milk-5-japanese-women/

and farmers now have to buy grass to feed their livestock because
Grazing rights lost over 'radioactive' grass
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110517005442.htm


and TBTB are still trying to hush up the fact that seaweed is radioactive. It is seaweed harvesting season. But so far Greenpeace is not cooperating.