Little radioactivity in Finnish berries
MEK / Mika SaloAccording to STUK - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, the amount of radioactive caesium in Finnish berries is small. The caesium originates from the nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl. The caesium content in the berries varies slightly according to the place where they are picked, but it does not reach great heights even if a large-scale consumer were to gather all its berries from the worst fallout areas.
The regions of Pirkanmaa, Häme and Kymenlaakso are the areas with the highest fallout. From time to time caesium contents exceeding the recommended limit are found in cloudberries picked in these areas. On the other hand, the areas with low fallout are Eastern and Northern Finland and the west coast. However, berries picked in all the areas are safe to eat.
Some mushrooms have a high caesium content. It varies a lot according to the time of gathering and type of mushroom. Many usual edible mushrooms may contain radioactive caesium above the EU recommendation in a large part of the country.
However, the occasional eating of mushrooms with a high content will not make a fundamental difference to the overall fallout dosage obtained by a human being. This dosage can be reduced by soaking the mushrooms overnight or by boiling them
Comments (5)