Study: Radioactive material found in Russian, South Korean seafood

A recent study uncovered detectable levels of radioactive materials in South Korean and Russian seafood products, according to a report from The Hankyoreh.

For the research, 150 samples of mackerel, pollock, cod, kelp and sea mustard were lifted from discount stores in Seoul, Busan, and Gwangju between March and November 2015. The presence of radioactive cesium-137 was discovered in eight of the samples, or 5.3 percent of the total sample pool.

Samples of pollock and cod from Russia along with samples of mackerel and kelp from South Korea were those that contained cesium-137, an isotope known to be one of the primary isotopes detected in the process of artificial nuclear fission. Levels of the isotope ranged from 0.37 to 1.09 becquerels per kilogram in the samples; the acceptable standard for Ce-137 is considered to be 100 becquerels per kilogram.

Russian cod samples had a 13 percent detection rate for the isotope – the highest in the study – followed closely by Russian pollock with 11. 5 percent, Korean kelp with 7.7 percent and Korean mackerel with 3.3 percent.

The study was conducted by the Institute for Environment & Community Development Studies (IECDS), the Korea Radiation Watch Center and the Gwangju chapter of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement. The results were shared on 23 December.

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