HANGZHOU - Chinese customs officials have intercepted 952 tons of imported radioactive scrap metal from Japan in the coastal city of Taizhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, local authorities said Sunday.

The radiation level of the scrap metal was nearly twice the national standard and is hazardous to the human body and the environment, according to Taizhou customs.

Customs detected the metal with excess radiation in a cargo ship and put it in physical isolation.

Taizhou customs have so far this year seized about 1,800 tons of solid waste with excessive radiation from Japan.