Japan radiation reaches PH but…

MANILA – Radiation from Japan’s damaged nuclear plant has reached the Philippines, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) said. But the radiation traces were so miniscule these could not possibly endanger Filipinos or other living things, stressed PNRI spokesperson Tina Cerbolis yesterday. “We would like to ask the public not to panic,” she said. PNRI monitored the radiation traces in its Quezon City main office. These were at 93-115 nanoSieverts per hour (nSv/h) level, which is “normal,” Cerbolis stressed. Radioactive materials from Japan reached the country due to a “change in wind direction,” she explained. “Extremely high levels of radiation (10 million times normal) appeared to be a reporting error and had been retracted by Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. Nevertheless, high levels of radiation remain inside the power plant and pose danger only to the emergency workers there,” PNRI said in its advisory released yesterday. China and South Korea, which were nearer to Japan, also reported yesterday that small traces of radioactive iodine-131 were detected in their territories but that these were not harmful to humans. The nearest major Philippine coastline to the stricken plant is about 2,500 kilometers to its southwest, with the Philippine capital Manila around 500 kilometers further. For the latest information, the PNRI advised the public to access the websites of the following: * International Atomic Energy Agency * Nuclear and Industrial Safety Administration of Japan; and * World Health Organization. “For further advisories, please call the PNRI trunk lines 929-6010 to 19, or visit the websites of the Department of Science and Technology, the PNRI or the Science and Technology Information Institute,” said Cerbolis. In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan insisted yesterday that the country was on “maximum alert” to bring its nuclear crisis under control, but the spread of radiation raised concerns about the ability of experts to stabilize the crippled reactor complex. The magnitude-9.0 offshore earthquake on March 11 triggered a tsunami that slammed minutes later into Japan’s northeast, wiping out towns and knocking out power and backup systems at the coastal Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Police said more than 11,000 bodies have been recovered, but the final death toll is expected to exceed 18,000. Hundreds of thousands remain homeless, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. Damage could amount to $310 billion — the most expensive natural disaster on record, the government said. Against the backdrop of the humanitarian disaster, the drama at the power plant has unfolded, with workers fighting fires, explosions, radiation scares and miscalculations in the frantic bid to prevent a complete meltdown. The plant has been leaking radiation that has made its way into vegetables, raw milk and tap water as far away as Tokyo. Residents within 20 kilometers of the plant were ordered to leave and some nations banned the imports of food products from the Fukushima region. Highly toxic plutonium was the latest contaminant found seeping into the soil outside the plant. (With reports from the Philippine News Agency, abs-cbnnews.com, AP and AFP/PN)