Fisheries Dept allays fears of contaminated seafood after Japan drops nuclear waste in Pacific

Thavorn Thunjai, deputy director-general of the Fisheries Department, said on Monday that the department has acknowledged public concern following reports of Japan releasing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

A powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011, damaged the power plant’s emergency generators, causing a loss of power and leading to three nuclear meltdowns, three hydrogen explosions and the release of radioactive contamination.

Though the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave the green light for the release of wastewater on August 24, the Thai public is still worried about contaminated seafood, Thavorn said.

He added that the department has stepped up checks on seafood imported from Japanese cities close to Fukushima, including Tokyo, Shiba, Saitama and Nagano.

The department has sought cooperation from the Office of Atoms for Peace at the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry to check for contamination.

So far, the Fisheries Department has not detected worrisome levels of radioactive contamination in any sampled imported seafood from Japan, he said.

Thavorn said if any contamination is detected, the entire shipment of the imported seafood will be rejected and returned.