Greenpeace on Monday widened its radiation tests near Japan’s stricken nuclear plant to also include checks of milk and vegetables, the environmental watchdog said in a statement.
A Greenpeace field team charged with food testing would join another group near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant surveying surface contamination, according to the statement.
“The official response to the radiation risk continues to be sporadic and contradictory, leaving local populations confused and at risk,” Greenpeace radiation expert Rianne Teule said in the statement.
“We hope to be able to provide independent analysis and clear advice to (affected) populations.”
The Fukushima plant was hit by a massive quake and tsunami on March 11 that knocked out its cooling systems, threatening a meltdown in four of its six reactors.
In the more than three weeks that have passed since then, the plant has leaked radiation, triggering fears about the health consequences for locals and the impact on food produced in the vicinity of the plant.
Greenpeace last week urged the Japanese government to evacuate inhabitants of a village 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the plant.
