Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

Fukushima fish found with 180 times legal limit of radioactive cesium

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 24 Jul 2023 10:10
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

Dozens of fish close to the disaster-hit nuclear power station were found with radioactive cesium above the safety limit.

  • x
  • In this photo taken Friday, March 2, 2012, fishermen boil brown seaweed at a port of Minamisanriku, nearly a year after the March 11 tsunami hit the northeastern Japanese town. (AP)
    In this photo taken Friday, March 2, 2012, fishermen boil brown seaweed at the port of Minamisanriku, nearly a year after the March 11 tsunami hit the northeastern Japanese town. (AP)

A fish containing levels of radioactive cesium, 180 times more than the Japanese safety limit, was found living near drainage outlets at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in May. 

The black rockfish was caught on May 18 by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) with 18,000 becquerels in every kg of cesium-137, compared to the legal maximum level of 100 becquerels per kg. 

Japan has plans to release 1.3m tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima plant, sparking concern in the area, despite the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s approval. That said, Hong Kong threatened to ban food imports from ten Japanese prefectures if all goes as planned.

Read next: The Pacific; a dumpster for Fukushima's wastewater - Bloomberg

Japanese seafood imports are being tested for radioactivity in China, which has led some wholesalers to halt importing such Japanese produce. 

Regarding the water discharge, the Tepco official expressed confidence that there will be minimal impact on the public and the environment. 

How was the water originally contaminated? 

Related News

Japan’s ruling party elects nationalist Sanae Takaichi as leader

Japan's far-right party seeks global conservative alliance

During the March 2011 disaster, rainwater from the areas around reactors one, two, and three, which melted down in the disaster, and water flowed into the inner breakwater where the rockfish was found. That said, cesium concentration found in the seabed exceeds 100,000 becquerels per kg, according to Tepco.

A Tepco official told The Guardian, “Since contaminated water flowed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station port immediately after the accident, Tepco has periodically removed fish from inside the port since 2012 using fishnets that have been installed to prevent the fish from escaping the port."

Read next: Japan MP says US must be held accountable for atomic bombs

Tepco confirmed that between May 2022 and May 2023, a total of 44 fish with cesium levels above 100 becquerels per kg have been found in the Fukushima plant port, with 90% of those caught in or near the inner breakwater. Moreover, other species also had high radioactivity, such as an eel found in June 2022 carrying 1,700 becquerels per kg and rock trout with 1,200 becquerels in April 2023. 

Safety nets were installed in January 2016 to keep potentially contaminated fish inside the area.

“However, when a black rockfish with radioactive concentrations that exceed regulatory standards was caught off the coast of Soma [about 50km north of the plant] in January 2022, we began sampling again within this area in conjunction with the installation of more nets to prevent fish from leaving the port,” added the Tepco official.

Prevention methods 

After the radiation was detected, shipments of black rockfish were suspended in February 2022, and have yet to resume. The high radioactivity levels found in the fish led authorities to believe that it had escaped from the nuclear plant's port. 

Tepco is set to begin the release of more than 1.3m tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima plant next month, a process that will take decades to complete. Moreover, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency approved the operation but has been criticized by China and others among some Pacific islands. 

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, hit back at China’s decision to test Japanese seafood while on a recent tour of the Middle East. Kishida said on Tuesday in Doha that his government will “press for discussion based on scientific evidence”, regarding the release of the water from Fukushima.

  • Japan
  • Fukushima
  • Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
  • Radioactive waste
  • Water pollution

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
Al-Quds Brigades strike a command and control center north of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, in an undated screengrab from the al-Quds Brigades military media

Gaza resistance announces major operations against Israeli forces

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Retired Israeli General Brik says Israel has reached point of no return.
Politics

Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation
Politics

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Gaza’s newborns gasp for life as hospitals collapse amid Israeli war
Health

Gaza newborns gasp for life, share oxygen masks amid collapsed system

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls
Politics

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS