THE NUMBERS & ANALYSIS
~9:50 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average JAPANESE SENCHA GREEN TEA bought in Southern California Japanese market by Dale Ramicone = 59.1 CPM WHICH IS 65.1% HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS BACKGROUND AVERAGE
9:20 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 35.8 CPM
Japanese Sencha green tea is tea that hasn’t been grounded. This green tea is made from the first and second blossom of leaves that are exposed directly to sunlight and is the Japan’s most common green tea.
In 2006, Japan exported 16,000 metric tons of green tea abroad. By 2010, total Japanese green tea production was an estimated 90,800 tonnes.
There is bustling business in this green tea as seen at several of the 43 Japanese markets and groceries that are throughout Southern California. Many other stores also carry this tasty and popular product which has many adherents who tout its health benefits.
Fears of green tea radiation contamination first made news in Japan June 2:
“Japan banned the shipment of green tea leaves grown in four prefectures around Tokyo on Thursday after radioactive caesium above legal levels was found in samples, a media report said,” according to the wire service AFP. “The ban covers tea leaves from parts of the Tochigi, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures and all of Ibaraki prefecture, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said, Kyodo News agency reported.
“Kanagawa, southwest of Tokyo, said in early May it had detected radiation above the legal limit in tea grown there and blamed it on the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, which suffered partial meltdowns.
“Kanagawa prefecture then started a recall of the tea after measuring about 570 becquerels of caesium per kilogramme in leaves grown in the city of Minamiashigara. The legal limit is 500 Bq/kg.
“The Fukushima Daiichi plant is located some 220 kilometres (135 miles) northeast of Tokyo and 280 kilometres from Minamiashigara.”
It is of grave concern to many Japanese that the green tea grown on the other side of Tokyo than than the direction of the Fukushima plant was found to be so contaminated that the government banned its shipment.
The high reading found in the tea we sampled and detected at Radiation Station may be related to the multiple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi. Unlike the Japanese, however, most Americans have no idea that green tea and other food and drink products from Japan may be impacted by this unfolding and worsening disaster.
I drink Sencha Japanese green tea. The company is Eden. The box says it is harvested in Uji, Japan. I mapped it and it shows to be over 5 hours south of Fukushima. Still, not certain if it is safe. Would you be able to test it if I send you a box? Gratitude for your very important efforts.
Have you considered sending some of the tea to either Berkeley or a private lab to get a cesium test done on it? Would be interesting to see what it comes out as. Do you have other details on the tea such as where it was grown or the date it was packaged? Thanks for doing all of this, it is great information!