Radioactive cesium found in rice straw fed to cattle in Mie

News? not really, a kind of an advertisement for Matsuzaka Beef..

but that meat tested in the prefecture’s supermarkets had so far showed no signs of radiation.

This made me laugh! If they ate it, they are irradiated.

Good idea FarmBoy. Maybe they can do that for us.

So whats this like 2/3's of the Countries farmland is contaminated by now as those cows were eating contaminated feed they created contaminated manure, that fertilize the fields to sow and reap contaminated crops.

Who tested the meat, Tepco or the meat company?

Why would you ship rice straw from Miyagi to Mie for cows to eat anyway? That is a helluva long way. After tolls and gasoline, I cannot see how you would pull a profit.

Magic Miyagi straw makes famous Matsuzaka beef

If they ate it, they are irradiated.

Irradiated doesn't 100% mean a health problem... most food is irradiated to some degree (extends longevity)

we know what would happen if Strontium were to be found in any product..

Strontium accumulates in bones, not meat.

Every out door item / article / inlcuding food will have some degree of radiation , so we can either live with it and deal with or leave, each individual has the choice, well fthe oreigners anyway can.

Irradiated doesn't 100% mean a health problem... most food is irradiated to some degree (extends longevity)

Agree that it depends on the levels, but be careful with the terminology, which refers to procedures for specific purposes. From Wikipedia:

" In common usage the term [irradiation] refers specifically to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serve that specific purpose, rather than radiation exposure to normal levels of background radiation or abnormal levels of radiation due to accidental exposure. "

so we can either live with it and deal with or leave, each individual has the choice, well fthe oreigners anyway can

ExportExpert -- No argument. But what you are in effect saying is that the J-government, both elected and in the bureaucracies, and Tepco, have put the population of Japan in basically a no-win position. Possibly for many years. And, worse yet, the only folks who will "pay" for all this are the victims -- both literally and figuratively. Sad.

Even if you eat a 200 gram steak (3591 becquerels per kilo) everyday for a year, the total radiation is only equivalent to a CT head scan (46mSv).

This is from July 18, 2011 JT

Radiation concerns for Japan's beef supply intensify

It also released results of tests conducted on remaining straw, which revealed cesium levels as high as 500,000 becquerels per kilogram at one farm in Koriyama City. That translates to roughly 378 times the legal limit.

If some of the straw was 500,000 becquerels per kilo, the beef may have been 3 to 7 or more times over the legal limit nd it's not just beef but the vegetables, grains, fruits, seafood etc.

Even if you eat a 200 gram steak (3591 becquerels per kilo) everyday for a year, the total radiation is only equivalent to a CT head scan (46mSv).

CrazyJoe, it's good for that to be pointed out, because it helps perspective, but I think what everyone really wants is to have a choice. At the moment, due to lax testing and the possible witholding of information, we don't know what is tainted within the emergency limit, what is tainted over the emergency limit, and what is clean.

@ crazyJoe

Sounds like the voice of reason. You seem well informed. Sure hope you're right. Would you explain how you came to this figure? 3591 bq per kg means , I believe, that in every kilo of meat, every second, 3591 events of disintegration (decay) of an atom occur. AFAIK in the bq measurement there is no distinction made between gamma or beta or alpha type decay events . However I think the damage done (energy transferred) by a beta versus a gamma event is much greater at short range, such as in the case of ingestion. If I understand this correctly, the destructive potential (weighting factor) of beta is at least twice and alpha 20 times as powerful as that of gamma. Therefore there is no clear relation to the the exposure type measurement applicable to CT scans, which I think are much less destructive photon-type radiation events, and happen only momentarily, instead of continuously. Radiation from radioisotopes permanently lodged in the body might be more comparable to something like a very low power ct scan that never stops, and also includes particulate radiation, not photons only. I need some help with the math. Would you please explain how you came to this figure of 46mSv? Is this 46mSv per year? Whole body? Intestinal tract only? For one year only or for the multiple half lives of the radioactive isotopes permanently absorbed into bones, muscle or connective tissues? I worry about this and look forward to your informed response.

Article from JT May 25,2011

Radiation released by the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has caused soil contamination matching the levels seen in the Chernobyl disaster in some areas, a researcher told the government’s nuclear policy-setting body Tuesday

I don't know but this article was written in May and with Daiichi still spewing Radiation, I can only deduce that the soil contamination through accumulation in much higher than previously stated. the soil affects the crops which affects the animals and humans alike.