Radiation contamination discovered in fresh produce, dairy, meat, and fish

(NaturalNews) The inherent dangers of nuclear radiation are once again on display after officials in Scotland found contaminated fish some 80 miles away from the closest nuclear plant. Scotland's Daily Record paper reports that nuclear waste released from a Cumbrian reprocessing site made its way into fish swimming off the coast of Dumfriesshire, located several driving hours away.

Even though the Sellafield nuclear station is located a considerable distance to the south of Dumfriesshire, and well away from the coastline, nuclear radiation is somehow making the trek and affecting sea life, which in turn affects humans. Fish-eaters in the Dumfriesshire are believed to have the highest exposure to radiation from the plant, even though they live nowhere near it.

According to the Daily Record, the radiation levels being detected are below what European Union standards consider safe. But the sheer distance that this radiation is traveling has put some up in arms over an energy production technology that, despite industry claims to the contrary, is clearly a major public health threat.

Scotland's Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued a statement claiming that the very small levels of radiation being detected are "of no concern to anybody," while a spokesman for Dounreay Site Restoration told the media that the levels are "within the limits laid down in law." But others believe differently.

"There is no safe level of radiation," said Dr. Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland. "Nuclear technology... poses an ongoing threat to public health."

The UK-based group "No2NuclearPower" agrees, warning that some schools of thought have hypothesized that radiation is hundreds of times more dangerous than the official data claim. Even background radiation, claims the group, is dangerous.

"Official reports often appear more concerned with alleviating public worries on radiation risks than with presenting the evidence as clearly as possible without fudges or omissions," the group explains on its website.

Radiation from nuclear plants showing up in fresh produce, dairy and meat

Fish isn't the only food source being affected by radiation from nuclear plants. According to the same Daily Record report, traces of radiation are being found in fruit, potatoes and vegetables grown near the Dounreay nuclear power station in Caithness, Scotland. And in Chapelcross, located in Dumfriesshire, radiation is being detected in milk.

In the far northwest of Scotland, beef is also showing up as contaminated with radiation. Reports indicate that Britain's nuclear submarines discharge liquid radioactive waste throughout the area, and this waste is making its way into the local meat supply.

A 2013 report by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), entitled "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment" (RIFE), explains that those at highest risk of radiation poisoning in Scotland are adults who eat fish caught off the coast of Dumfriesshire. On average, these folks will have consumed 0.44 millisieverts of radiation, or about 4 percent of what the EU considers safe.

The unborn children of pregnant mothers living within 550 yards of the Hunterston B nuclear site in North Ayrshire, one of Scotland's two working nuclear power stations, would have the highest risk in this location. And adults who live close to Dounreay would have the highest risk from consuming green vegetables, which were found to contain traces of radiation.

Despite repeated claims that the radiation levels being detected are well within safe limits, the reality is that this simply isn't true based on science. It is also a fact that the nuclear industry is unable to adequately contain nuclear waste, as evidenced by the RIFE report, the discovery of tainted food all across Scotland and many other reports in recent years from around the world.

Sources:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk

http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk

http://www.fairewinds.org