RIGHT OF ANSWER : IS JAPANESE BINCHOTAN RADIOACTIVE ?
Trust and transparency are values that are dear to us.
To silence the rumors peddled on a large scale on the internet by a competing company, we are going to answer a question that we are regularly asked: is Japanese binchotan radioactive? Did Japanese craftsmen really worry about the possibility that the production of Japanese Binchotan activated carbon was contaminated with radiation? Did the Japanese producers really export their know-how to Laos to continue manufacturing binchotan there, as this company claims?
First of all, it is necessary above all to distinguish between natural radioactivity and artificial radioactivity.
Since the creation of the Earth, our planet and living beings have been immersed in a veritable bath of radioactivity.
This natural, ubiquitous radioactivity comes from:
cosmic rays from the sun and galaxies that constantly generate radioactive atoms such as tritium or carbon 14,
of the earth, rocks which naturally contain radioactive atoms such as uranium 238, potassium 40 or thorium 232. Thus, under our feet, many rocks, such as granite, contain for example radium producing a natural radioactive gas : radon.
This is why everything around us turns out to be radioactive: rocks, building materials, water, air, food and even our bodies. Air, water, soil and food all contain a small amount of natural radioactivity which is linked to cosmic radiation. All living beings are therefore permanently exposed to a small quantity of radioactivity which is not harmful. It is therefore impossible to obtain a level of radioactivity equal to zero, no matter where in the world you are,
In mainland France, the INSN (Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety) estimates that the average exposure to various sources of radioactivity represents a dose of 4.5 millisieverts per year (mSv/year), of which 3.0 mSv is natural origin and 1.5 mSv of artificial origin (more information by clicking on the document below)
Report of the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
Then, you should know that radioactivity in Japan is closely monitored. Readings are taken very regularly to monitor the levels of radioactivity in the air, soil and water. Each region of Japan has been taking radioactivity readings every month for 10 years. Thus, the Wakayama region (where our Binchotan is made) has never been contaminated by radioactivity. These analyzes can be consulted in full transparency here :
They show that the levels of radioactivity observed in the production area of our Binchotan (Wakayama prefecture) never varied following the Fukushima nuclear incident !
As a precautionary measure, we wanted to confirm these local results with a test carried out in France. We therefore chose an independent French laboratory: CRIIRAD. He also demonstrates that the use of Binchotan is harmless (see here).
As you will have understood, it is completely false to affirm that Japanese craftsmen exported their know-how to Laos to protect themselves from radiation and to continue the exploitation of Binchotan there. These rumors are all the more unfounded as the real Binchotan cannot be made outside of Japan (see the "counterfeit" section).
These slanderous rumors aim to discredit the Japanese Binchotan as well as our small French company, which visibly begins to disturb the unscrupulous competitors who claim to sell "authentic Japanese Binchotan" ... yet manufactured outside of Japan!
These companies unduly take advantage of the exceptional reputation of Japanese Binchotan to sell products that have absolutely nothing Japanese about them, and whose manufacturing methods go against the ancestral Japanese manufacturing process.
I also remind you for all intents and purposes that Binchotan is a typically Japanese product, and that it is the only charcoal in the world to be activated with steam (where other countries and even France activate charcoal chemical solvents). Binchotan is a national treasure resulting from ancestral Japanese know-how, and its manufacturing techniques are listed as UNESCO heritage. The Kishu Binchotan that I offer on my site is a registered trademark and it must therefore be sold with its authenticity sticker.
It is therefore necessary to distinguish between "white coals" (activated carbons made from hardwood) and an authentic Binchotan (see under "counterfeits"). Keep in mind that only white coals made in Japan in the geographical areas of Kishu, Tosa and Miyazaki from Ubamegashi wood (more rarely other varieties of oak if authorized) can bear the name Binchotan.