Radioactive iodine found in Tokyo tap water

Tokyo - High levels of radioactive iodine were detected in tap water in Tokyo, authorities said Wednesday. The Tokyo metropolitan government said infants should not drink tap water in the 23 wards and five western cities in the prefecture after they found radioactive iodine exceeding legal limits for youngsters.

Authorities are battling to prevent a meltdown at a troubled nuclear plant at Fukushima in the country’s north-east. Prime Minister Naoto Kan told Fukushima prefecture Wednesday not to sell 11 kinds of vegetables and also instructed Ibaraki prefecture not to ship raw milk and parsley after authorities had detected radioactive materials in the produce.

Authorities said they had found more radiation-tainted vegetables in Fukushima, including cabbage and broccoli, after high radiation levels were detected in 11 types of produce grown in the prefecture, which hosts a troubled nuclear power station, damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.

Health Ministry officials detected radioactive caesium - 82,000 becquerels, 164 times the legal limit of 500 becquerels - in kukitachina, a leafy vegetable, from Motomiya City, 60 kilometres west of the plant. The Nikkei business daily reported Wednesday that the ministry found radioactive caesium in 25 of the 35 vegetables inspected in Fukushima.

The ministry also detected radioactive iodine in parsley and raw milk in the neighbouring prefecture of Ibaraki. The prefecture’s parsley holds 19.4% of the nation’s market, while its raw milk has a market share of 2.3%, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Meanwhile, the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said Tuesday that radioactive iodine at levels more than 126 times the legal limit and radioactive caesium nearly 25 times higher were detected in seawater near the plant.

click to enlarge SUSPICIOUS: Japanese restaurant manager Masuyuki Tsuchiya inspects a glass of tap water at his restaurant in downtown Tokyo, Japan. Following evidence that 210 becquerels of radioactive iodine was detected at a Tokyo water treatment plant, the Tokyo metropolitan government has warned that infants should not drink tap water. © EPA/EVERETT KENNEDY BROWN