Radioactive cesium was detected from two minke whales caught
off the coast of Kushiro, Hokkaido, in Japan's so-called research
whaling, a whalers' association said Tuesday.
While the level of the radioactive material remained below the
temporarily set upper limit, the association officials said during a
press conference in Kushiro that the contamination must have been
caused by the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power
plant and that they will closely monitor future developments.
During the research whaling that started in late April, 17 whales were
caught, and researchers examined six of them. Of the six, two were
found tainted with 31 becquerels and 24.3 becquerels of cesium per
kilogram of whale meat, they said.