No Fukushima threat to China waters: authority

BEIJING, Mar 20, 2013 -- Xinhua

China's maritime authority said on Wednesday that to date there is no direct threat to China's territorial waters posed by the pollution from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plants.

Readings of radioactive matter in the sea and marine organisms in waters under China's jurisdiction, as well as the air above these waters, are within the normal range, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said in a statement.

However, some contamination has been monitored in China's exclusive economic zone in the waters near the southern coast of Taiwan, said Li Xiaoming, a senior official in charge of maritime environmental protection with the SOA.

Moreover, different quantities of nuclear materials have been detected in fish caught in the Pacific Ocean, but the amounts will not reach a dangerous level according to the monitoring so far, Li said.

The SOA statement noted that sea areas in the Western Pacific region to the east and southeast of Fukushima are found to have been substantially impacted by the nuclear leaks from the crippled power plants.

Li promised that the authority will publish relevant information in a timely manner once any threat is detected to ensure food safety for the public.

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