Radiation Spurs Fears Around Japanese Food

[jpak]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703818204576206483818907672.html

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The extent of radiation in Japan is still being determined. But the biggest concern with radioactivity in the food supply relates to living materials, such as plants or animals, which can take up radioactive material into their structure by ingesting contaminated nutrients.

Immediate contamination could occur from particles from the air settling on plants or feed, or in the longer run, radioactive elements could get washed to the soil where plants grow.

The radioactive material, once incorporated, can continue to emit powerful radiation for some amount of time—the exact duration depends on how much and what type of radioactive material—and can be passed on if a human then eats the plant or animal.

Each dose of radioactive material ingested is associated with a small increased risk of cancer, according to Peter Caracappa, a clinical professor of nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has established an annual ingestion limit for each type of radioactive material.

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