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Cesium, a radioactive substance 14 times higher than the standard, was detected in a herd caught off the coast of Fukushima, Japan.
Residents of Fukushima have filed a class action lawsuit alleging that they have cancer due to radiation.
In the midst of this, the Japanese government is continuously preparing for the discharge of contaminated water.
Correspondent Koh Hyun-seung reports from Tokyo.
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Off the coast of Soma, about 40 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Another radioactive cesium was detected in rockfish caught yesterday at a depth of about 40 meters.
1,400 becquerels per kg, 14 times the Japanese food standard.
The Fukushima Fisheries Association has recovered all 50 kg of eel caught on that day and stopped shipping.
Cesium exceeding the standard was detected in February and April of last year, as well as 900 becquerels from the previous year, in Fukushima herd.
The Japanese government, which belatedly restricted the shipment of urok, resumed shipment in December last year saying there was no problem with safety, but within two months, another ‘cesium urok’ was released.
Not only this.
On the 17th, the freezing tube of the ‘freezing earth barrier’ installed in the ground around the reactor to prevent the inflow of groundwater was damaged, and more than 4 tons of refrigerant leaked.
[마유즈미 토모히코/후쿠시마원전 홍보담당]
“There was no pressure drop in the pressure test, so I think there was (refrigerant) leaking around (the point of failure) to an invisible level.”
TEPCO stated that the repairs were made immediately and that the water-blocking function was not affected, but there have been precedents in the past when barrier walls have melted or radioactive substances have been detected in the groundwater around nuclear power plants.
The damage to the residents is not over yet, and six Fukushima residents today filed a lawsuit against TEPCO, claiming that they developed thyroid cancer after being exposed to radiation.
Childhood thyroid cancer usually affects 1-2 cases in 1 million people per year, but in Fukushima, 293 cases occurred.
[이도 켄이치/갑상선암 피해자 변호인]
“‘The Fukushima accident is over.’ I hope you will not be deceived by the government’s false propaganda, such as ‘there are no health victims from the Fukushima accident’.”
Even though Fukushima’s radioactive contamination is still there, Japan is steadily making preparations for the discharge of contaminated water into the ocean in April next year, such as undersea tunnel construction following an ocean survey.
This is Hyunseung Ko from MBC News from Tokyo.
Video coverage: Jang-sik Lee, Jin-ho Kim (Tokyo) / Video editing: Jeong-seop Lee
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