The annual dose of radioactive cesium in meals in Fukushima Prefecture decreased by at least two-thirds last year and was well within the government’s safety standard, the health ministry said March 11.
The annual dose of radioactive cesium in meals in Fukushima Prefecture decreased by at least two-thirds last year and was well within the government’s safety standard, the health ministry said March 11.
The maximum annual dose in typical meals tested was 0.0066 millisievert, according to the ministry’s study in three areas of Fukushima Prefecture in February and March 2012.
The central government’s maximum allowable annual dose for food is 1 millisievert.
Specifically, 0.0063 millisievert of radioactive cesium was detected in food in the Hamadori area of eastern Fukushima Prefecture, 0.0066 millisievert was found in the Nakadori area of central Fukushima Prefecture, and 0.0039 millisievert was recorded in the Aizu area in the western part of the prefecture.
The previous study by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was conducted only in the Nakadori area, where 0.0193 millisievert was detected in food in autumn 2011, about half a year after the accident started at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.