– 2,700 Becquerels/Kg Cesium from Teas Picked by Elementary School Children in Itabashi, Tokyo (EX-SKF, June 30, 2011):
Children from 3 public elementary schools in Itabashi-ku in Tokyo did the tea picking in early May, the tea leaves were roasted and made into the final blend tea and was about to be given to the children. For some reason, the municipal officials decided to test the tea, and found radioactive cesium to the tune of 2,700 becquerels/kilogram, more than 5 times the loose national provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kilogram.
The public elementary schools and junior high schools in Itabashi are run by the Itabashi Board of Education. There are 53 elementary schools in Itabashi.
From Sankei Shinbun (6/30/2011):
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Itabashi-ku (special ward) in Tokyo announced on June 30 that 2,700 becquerels/kilogram of radioactive cesium were detected in the final blend tea grown and processed in Itabashi, exceeding the national provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kilogram.
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The tea farm is not a commercial operation but for people to experience how it is like to pick tea leaves. The final blend tea was made from the tea leaves picked by elementary school pupils. There is no other farm that produces and ship tea in Itabashi-ku.
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In response, the Tokyo Metropolitan government has decided to test radioactive materials in 5 types of vegetables produced in Itabashi-ku and Nerima-ku.
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According to Itabashi-ku, 300 pupils from 3 public elementary schools picked the first-pick tea (“ichiban-cha”) on May 9, from which 20 kilograms of the final blend tea was made and ready on June 15. Before giving it to the pupils, Itabashi-ku tested the tea for radioactive materials to ascertain the safety. There was no radioactive iodine detected, and the amount of radioactive cesium in the second-pick tea was below the provisional limit.
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Itabashi-ku plans to dispose the entire tea without giving it to the pupils, and says “there is no effect on health by having them pick tea leaves.”
The famous last word in Japan since March 11, “There is no effect on health.” At least, an increasing number of Japanese people now know that it simply means “there is no immediate effect on health.”
According to the Itabashi-ku official website, cesium-134 was detected at 1,300 becquerels/kilogram, and cesium-137 was detected at 1,400 becquerels/kilogram.
I wonder how they are going to dispose the tea, though. I hope they just don’t throw it in the garbage that gets sent to the waste disposal plant in Itabashi, which then burns the tea in the ordinary incinerator and spread cesium in the neighborhood.
Thank you so much for staying on this story that is blacked out on all media outlets. This story is so huge, obviously corporate interests overcome any traces of decency or respect for human life. I remember when you ran this story in May, where the children of Fukushima picked the tea leaves with their mothers. I am glad someone decided to test the tea this time before giving it to the children to drink. The statement no harm will come to them from picking this radioactive tea is chilling. How the hell do they know? What if a child handled the tea leaves, then put his or her fingers in the mouth, or rubbed their eye, or….?
But, your point about the tea beind deep sixed somewhere in a land fill or ocean is well taken, that is what they do with everything else.
I received a phone call today from a friend who told me that the Pacific Northwest was getting it the worst, here in Northern CA, not so much. I told him to stop dreaming, it is already in our milk, eggs, water, strawberries and other crops. Thanks to your website, I was able to relate these facts, we sure don’t get any information from our government. Thanks to your site, I at least know the truth.
We just had a lot of rain a few days ago, and we were drenched with acid rain.once again. I take it there is no progress in the TEPCO disaster?
Please stay on this story, it is so important! Thanks for having the courage to cover it, big money interests are working hard to keep it suppressed. They could care less who gets sick as long as their profits don’t suffer.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Gjerdrum