Too much caesium found in rice grown near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was hit by tsunami in March

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Japan has banned shipments of rice grown near a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant, after detecting radiation exceeding the legal limit.

The cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, said on Thursday that a sample of rice from a farm contained 630 becquerels of caesium a kg.

Caesium was among the radioactive materials that leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after it was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in March.

Under Japanese regulations, rice with more than 500 becquerels of caesium per kilogram must not be consumed.

Officials have tested rice at hundreds of spots in Fukushima, but none had previously exceeded the limit. Only last month Fukushima declared that rice grown in the prefecture was safe.