France goverment : Mushrooms imported from Russia are found to contain traces of radiation

News24xx.com - A week after Russia confirmed extremely high concentrations of the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 in the country, France has discovered traces of radioactive cesium on mushrooms imported from Russia.


The report from the head of French nuclear regulator, ASN, says the mushrooms are on sale in supermarkets in Paris. In recent weeks, France has imported chanterelle mushrooms from Russia which are on sale in supermarkets in Paris.


Although it is unclear what the health implications of eating them could be but Pierre-Franck Chevet, ASN chief, told the levels of radioactive ruthenium 106 in the air had posed no safety threat to French citizens, but that controls on food imports had been strengthened.

Russian state weather service Roshydromet said last week it had found 'extremely high pollution' of ruthenium 106 at nearly 1,000 times normal levels near the Mayak nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in southern Russia owned by Russian state nuclear company Rosatom.

But, Mayak has denied that its plant was the source of increased level of ruthenium 106.

 

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