Radioactive material found in Japanese water, milk, and spinach

Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Photo: AP/Kyodo News.

Officials have detected unusual levels of radiation in Japan's drinking water, milk, and spinach.

Even though the radioactive material found in dairy samples was five times higher than Japan's legal limit, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, said the contaminants aren't an immediate health-threat.

Edano claims, at the present levels, drinking a year's worth of radioactive milk is comparable to the same amount of radiation in a CT scan - and consuming a year's worth of radioactive spinach is about one-fifth that amount.

However, Edano fails to mention that the contamination levels will increase, the longer these items are exposed to radiation.

In related news, Japanese car makers are doing everything they can to reassure Americans that any cars exported from Japan, are free of radiation.

Nissan has vowed to monitor radiation levels in its cars until the threat of contamination no longer exist.

But in a struggling economy, can we trust an automaker to police itself when it comes to such an important safety issue?