Scientists downplay food fears
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Nuclear and oceanic experts in Shanghai are attempting to calm widespread fears over the safety of seafood products, saying the likelihood of any contaminated water from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant reaching China's coastal areas remains low.
On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co began discharging over 10,000 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific, fueling concerns over the impact on marine life and the safety of China's food supply.
Tang Wenqiao, a professor with the Shanghai Oceanic University who specializes in fisheries and oceanic sciences, told the Global Times that the ocean current from the surrounding waters near Fukushima will not reach the East China Sea or the Yellow Sea before the end of summer.
"The current from Japan travels southeast toward the Philippines, so the radioactive waters will not make it to China's coastal waters," said Tang.
Tang added that when the ocean current does reach China's coastal areas, the radioactive materials will have been diluted, because nuclear pollution lessens as it spreads farther from its source, and seafood and water in China will remain within the safety levels stipulated by the World Health Organization.
He added that freshwater resources in China will not be polluted by the contaminated ocean current.
According to Fan Shoulin, chairman of the Shanghai Fisheries Trade Association, only 2 percent of the city's 800,000 tons of seafood came from Japan last year.
"The majority of locally supplied seafood is cultivated in fish farms along the shores of the East China Sea, waters that have not been affected by the radiation leaks."
He added that local fishermen usually travel to the Pacific from May to November, in waters about 300 nautical miles from the plant, too far to be affected by the contamination.
However, Fan said it is necessary for authorities to step up food surveillance in order to ensure imported food from Japan is safe for public consumption. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that it had not found any radioactive materials in milk or drinking water.
Su Xu, director of the National Institute for Radiological Protection, said that polluted spinach found on the market is not harmful to humans if washed thoroughly.
Chen Wei, director of the Radiation Safety and Control department of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, told the Global Times on Monday that the authorities are continuing to monitor the situation.
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