From the Washington-based The Hill, two days ago, the above and:

The specter of radioactivity in food just reared its head again, with another shipment of imported shrimp recalled for possible Cesium-137 contamination.   The MAHA Commission 2025 report unfotunately ignored radioactivity as a possible cause of rising cancer and chronic illness. But even leaving aside nuclear accidents, studies show living near nuclear plants elevates cancer risk. Nuclear reactors generate radioactive waste and ionizing radiation, which get into the environment, contaminating air, water, soil and food.

Harmful isotopes like Cesium-137 aren’t natural; they’re made only in reactors, but persist in the environment and food for centuries. Decades after Chernobyl, for instance, researchers found Cesium-137 in meat from domestic and game animals in Poland, and in food and children’s bodies in Belarus, which caused pediatric cardiovascular disease.   

Cesium-137 has a 30-year half-life but remains dangerous for 300 years, especially when ingested or inhaled. It lodges in soft tissues inside the body, irradiating cells and increasing cancer risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even very low doses have been shown to cause cancer, renal pathology and other damage. 

This summer, the Food and Drug Administration issued multiple health hazard warnings about Cesium-137 detected in imported Indonesian shrimp, triggering massive recalls and worried coverage in mainstream outlets like “Martha Stewart Living.” Consumer Reports found evidence a wide swath of Indonesia’s land may be contaminated. 

The Indonesian shrimp flagged as a health hazard had 68 becquerels of Cesium-137. The FDA’s “derived intervention level” — more of a guideline than an enforceable standard — is about 20 times higher, at 1,200 becquerels. 

No level of Cesium-137 or other harmful radioactive isotopes is safe, yet Trump’s recent executive orders raise exposure limits and depart from the longstanding linear no-threshold model of radiation safety. Advocates warned the public health consequences would be severe, with women, children and fetuses worst impacted.   

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5692924-fda-radioactive-shrimp-threat/

This reminded me of reports from my own area, in South West Scotland:

In 2016, researchers at Glasgow University reported ‘enhanced’ radioactivity levels, including Cs-137, in shellfish catches, at a number of coastal locations in Cumbria, near the Sellafield plant, and on the west coast of Scotland, including the village of Maidens, in Ayrshire.¹

The level of contamination, 348 Becquels per Kg, found at Maidens is lower than the ‘safe’ level of 1 000 Bq/Kg set for the UK, in 1986 after the Chernobyl event. ²

However, in Japan the government sets a level of only 100 Bq/kg as a safe maximum for food, far less than the level found at Maidens. Seafood consumption is of course, more common in Japan than in Scotland but there will still be some regular consumers put at risk by this contamination.³

The source of the radioactivity was even reported by the Herald in 2015:

Radioactive waste from the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria is contaminating shellfish hundreds of kilometres away on the west coast of Scotland, according to a new scientific study. Scottish researchers discovered traces of radioactive carbon discharged from Sellafield in the shells of mussels, cockles and winkles as far north as Port Appin in Argyll, 160 miles from the notorious nuclear plant.⁴

Radiation from nuclear plants and present on beaches or seafood has been linked to increased incidents of childhood leukaemia. German research suppressed by Labour Government and media in 2008 revealed under 5’s living near nuclear plants more than twice as likely to develop leukemia.⁵

So, the US authorities seize at 68 becquerels per kg and shrimp on the Maidens beach at 348, FIVE times the level, due to waste from Sellafield is allowed into Scotland’s food chain?

Sources:

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X15301454
2. https://www.reading.ac.uk/foodlaw/news/uk-09047.htm
3. https://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/site/portal-english/en01-03.html
4. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14157272.scottish-shellfish-contaminated-radioactive-waste-sellafield/
5. https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2024/06/02/german-research-suppressed-by-labour-government-and-media-in-2008-revealed-under-5s-living-near-nuclear-plants-more-than-twice-as-likely-to-develop-leukemia/