Incheon City Confirms Ganghwado Seafood Safe Amid Concerns Over North Korean Uranium Plant Wastewater

All Seven Types of Seafood, Including Anchovy and Mullet, Pass Radioactivity Inspection

The Incheon City Health and Environment Research Institute announced on July 15 that it conducted radioactivity inspections on seafood caught and produced in Ganghwado from July 9 to 11, and found that no radioactive substances were detected in any of the samples.

This inspection was carried out as an emergency response to recent claims that untreated radioactive wastewater from the Pyongsan uranium refinery in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, is flowing into the West Sea and causing contamination.

Radioactivity Inspection of Seafood. Incheon City Health and Environment Research Institute

The inspection covered seven types of seafood caught in Ganghwado and distributed locally: anchovy, mullet, butterfish, white clam, short-neck clam, rock crab, and turban shell. The analysis targeted cesium (Cs-137, 134) and iodine (I-131), and none of these substances were detected in any of the samples.

These substances are radioactive isotopes that emit the highest levels of radiation in the event of a nuclear accident, and are commonly used as key indicators of food contamination. Detailed inspection results can be found on the website of the Incheon City Health and Environment Research Institute.

Kwak Wansoon, Director of the Incheon City Health and Environment Research Institute, stated, "We will continue to conduct radioactivity inspections and do our utmost to manage seafood safety so that citizens can consume seafood with peace of mind."

Meanwhile, at the time of the first release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in August 2023, the institute increased the number of seafood radioactivity inspections by more than five times compared to previous levels, inspecting 1,502 cases. The institute then inspected 1,002 cases in 2024, and 560 cases in the first half of this year, continuing its efforts to ensure seafood safety.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.