As Japan seems unable to contain the radiation fallout from its crippled nuclear power plant, there have been reports that contaminated water has seeped into the Pacific Ocean, and that water with low contamination levels was released directly into the sea. Since the plant is located in a key fishing and aquaculture area, the contamination of the food chain will have far-reaching effects.
Concern over food safety has led to a 25 percent drop in demand for aquatic products in Japan. Japanese experts say radioactive substances in the sea will be absorbed by seaweed and other organisms at the bottom of the food chain. Seaweed is eaten by small fish, which are eaten by bigger fish, and eventually the whole food chain will be contaminated. We must not ignore the fact that the half-life of cesium-137 is 30 years, and thus will have a long-term effect on the ocean’s ecology.
While many countries have banned all imports of Japanese aquatic products, Taiwan has only prohibited imports of food products — including agricultural and aquatic products — from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures. For imports from other areas, stricter controls already implemented remain in place. For the time being, safety concerns demand that imports of Japanese aquatic products be suspended until Japanese authorities have verified that the waters and the fish are not contaminated and issued supporting documents. More importantly, the government should quickly set up a mechanism to ensure that contaminated agricultural and aquatic products are prevented from entering Taiwan.
There is much room for improvement in the Taiwanese government’s response to the Japanese nuclear crisis. Using the fishing industry as an example, a number of local institutions had insisted that fish caught by Taiwanese fishing boats were not contaminated, but they were unable to provide detailed information about the possible effects or concrete response measures to set up standards for the fishermen to follow and alleviate concern among local consumers.
Although China said estimates of weather and sea currents showed that nuclear radiation would not affect the ecology in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea in the short term, it warned fishing vessels heading to the Sea of Japan and parts of the Pacific Ocean close to the disaster area that this still entails a certain risk and advised caution. China also said radiation from contaminated fish and other sea organisms could further contaminate and harm humans, and that the radioactive contamination of dead sea animals would return to the ecological system after decomposition. It would then pose a threat to the ecology and aquatic species after traveling through the food chain. China would therefore, at an appropriate time, monitor the affected waters and conduct a prompt evaluation of the effect of radioactive substances on the fishing industry and the surrounding environment. If the situation deteriorates, it would consider stopping imports of Japanese aquatic products and stop fishing in waters close to Japan.
A few days ago, millions of fish died in King Harbor in Los Angeles, California. The incident set off environmental concerns among local residents. Every year in China, a tide of toxic seaweed along the country’s coastal areas causes hundreds of million of yuan in economic losses and several deaths from poisoning. In the future, the number of such incidents is likely to increase, and Taiwan will not be spared. In addition to strengthening its research efforts, Taiwan should build a complete monitoring and prevention mechanism to prevent a widespread panic when the situation arises.
Du Yu is a member of the Chen-Li Task Force for Agricultural Reform.
TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
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