An environmental study conducted by Greenpeace which shows that 25 years after Chernobyl food still contains “unacceptably  high levels of the radioactive isotope cesium-137″. The Greenpeace study also blasts the Ukraine government for suspending regular monitoring of food contamination from Chernobyl two years ago.

The National Radio Corporation of Ukraine (Ukraine’s NPR) reports:

Food and vegetables in Ukraine still contaminated by radioactive substances from Chernobyl

The international environmental organization Greenpeace says: milk, mushrooms, berries, beets, potatoes and other foods in some regions of Ukraine are still contaminated with radioactive substances from Chernobyl. This is what the research says that was made public by environmentalists.
This is what the research states that was made public by ecologists. Greenpeace experts conducted the study in three regions of the country outside the exclusion zone, studying the content of radionuclides “cesium-137″ in food stuffs. In many cases, the content of substances in the products exceeded the permissible norm.

Source: NRCU

The Associated Press has also picked up the story:

Greenpeace says Chernobyl food radiation persists

April 4th, 2010

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The environmental group Greenpeace says hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are still eating food contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion a quarter-century after the blast.

In a report released Monday, Greenpeace said samples of milk, berries, potatoes and root vegetables in two Ukrainian regions show unacceptably high levels of the radioactive isotope cesium-137 from the 1986 blast. The regions are in northwestern Ukraine, outside the so-called “exclusion zone” around the plant, where residency is generally prohibited.

Greenpeace researcher Iryna Labunska criticized the government for halting counter-radiation measures in the regions two years ago. Those measures included supplying uncontaminated hay for dairy cattle.

Ukrainian government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Source: Associated Press (via Google)

Via AlertNet (Reuters News Wire Service)

Milk, berries still contaminated from Chernobyl-Greenpeace

03 Apr 2011 12:33

• Greenpeace researchers checked milk, mushrooms, berries
• Levels of radionuclides higher than acceptable limits
• *Ukrainian govt blamed for ending food checks too early

KIEV, April 3 (Reuters) – Milk and other staples like mushrooms and berries are still contaminated in parts of Ukraine by radioactive fallout from Chernobyl, 25 years after the world’s worst nuclear disaster, Greenpeace said on Sunday.

The environmental group published findings of a field investigation ahead of a Ukraine-hosted international conference on Chernobyl on April 19.

…

he investigation in three parts of Ukraine earlier this month focused on contamination of locally-produced food by caesium-137, a radionuclide carried around the region by wind at the time.The findings showed varying degrees of contamination in food such as milk and milk products, mushrooms, berries and root vegetables like beetroot and potatoes, staples of the rural diet in Ukraine.

In many cases the presence of cs-137 was well above acceptable levels for children and adults.

Cs-137 “represents a long-term threat to the public’s health particularly for people who consume this food on a daily basis,” Greenpeace scientist Iryna Labunska told a briefing.

The Greenpeace report was especially critical of the Ukrainian government for suspending regular monitoring of food contamination from Chernobyl two years ago.

…

“It is absolutely premature to end this monitoring programme by the government because we still have to know the situation to be able to help people deal with these problems,” Labunska said.

“There is an urgent need for thorough, scientifically based evaluation of radionuclide contamination of agricultural land, and adequate remedial treatment of all lands proposed for a return to agricultural use,” Greenpeace said in a statement.

The investigation was carried out beyond a 60-km (38-mile) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl plant that has been deemed unsuitable for living.

Source: Reuters (via Alert Net)

See Also:

• Radiation Study Estimates Over 220,000 Cases Of Cancer From Fukushima Nuclear Fallout
• EU Secretly Authorizes Emergency Order Allowing Large Increase Of Radiation In Food
• Greenpeace: Japan Nuclear Disaster Is THREE Separate Chernobyl Level 7 incidents
• “Safe” Radiation Is A Lethal TMI Lie – People Died At Three Mile Island
• Japan Nuclear Radiation Found In San Francisco, CA Tap Water – Levels In Rainwater 18,100% Above Drinking Water Limit