Contaminated milk in the market

A formula milk product made by Meiji Dairies Corp. has turned out to be polluted with Cs137. The level is about 30Bq/Kg at the max that doesn't seem to be harmful to the babies. It was caused by a process to dry the milk by air. The raw material milk was produced in foreign countries before the nuclear plant accident. This milk product was manufactured at a factory in Kanto plain area about 150 km southwest of the nuclear power plant during Mar 14 and 20. The air drying the milk is suspected to be contaminated with Cs137. MDC is taking back the milk products in the market, even though most of them have been already consumed.

There are a couple of serious issues in this trouble. First, it was not MDC but a NPO which has pointed it out. MDC told they had not detected any contamination even though they checked it in a specimen of the lot produced during the period once a month. MDC or other major dairies corporations are told to have been reluctant to reply in detail to inquiries about contamination by their consumers. The contamination of radioactives seems to extend to large areas covering most of the eastern Japan. We should be prepared for that. And the food manufacturers should be ready for publishing any data concerning the contamination as soon as they get it. Not only the manufacturers but also the related government offices should realize that hiding those data or even not being willing to open them to the public  may injure themselves badly. Opening them to the public is the first step to solve the issue.

Second, the air in this area seemed highly contaminated for a week or two after the nuclear power plant accident. It should have been alarmed by the government. Those vulnerable to irradiation such as infants, toddlers or pregnant females could have evacuated indoor etc if they have warned it at proper timing. The government has not done what they should do. The bureaucracy and the government offices haven't worked at that time. I wonder if they have reflected on this fault in risk management. The system should be reformed to cope with such serious accidents.  So far, unfortunately, any actions toward this way have not been noted yet.