FUKUSHIMA – A citizen’s group concerned about the impact on mothers and babies of the radioactive leaks from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Wednesday that small amounts of radioactive iodine have been found in the breast milk of four women living east or northeast of Tokyo.
Of the samples provided by the four women, the breast milk of the mother of an 8-month-old in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, contained the highest level, at 36.3 becquerels per kilogram, the group said, adding that no radioactive cesium was found.
The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan has not set safety levels for radioactive substances in breast milk, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. However, the reading was below the limit of 100 becquerels per kilogram for tap water consumption by infants under 1 year old.
“We cannot yet determine safety, but infants drink breast milk,” said Kikuko Murakami, who heads the group. “We want the government to swiftly conduct an extensive investigation.”
Samples of around 120 to 130 ml were provided by nine women in Chiba, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures on March 24 and 30. The group had them analyzed by a private-sector radiation measurement firm.
According to the group, milk from a woman in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, contained 31.8 becquerels of radioactive iodine, but the second test on her sample showed a reading of 8.5 becquerels.
Milk from two women in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, contained 8.7 and 6.4 becquerels.
Meanwhile, no radioactive iodine was detected in the breast milk of four women in the city of Fukushima, the town of Tanakura in Fukushima Prefecture, Shiroishi in Miyagi Prefecture and Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki Prefecture.
The group said tests were still being carried out on breast milk from a woman in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has spewed radioactive materials into the air and sea since it was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.