IAEA: Radiation detected in milk, vegetables near Fukushima plant

Radiation levels in samples of milk and certain vegetables near a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan have been found to exceed Japanese government safety limits, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said before midnight Saturday (Manila time). The IAEA’s revelation prompted Philippine officials in Japan to take tighter precautions and seek “clarifications" from Japanese embassy on the implications of the findings. “So far we have not had any assurance since this was revealed only Saturday night. I will ask the appropriate Japanese ministry on what guarantees they have. Right now we just have to be very careful about the food items," Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez said in an interview on dzBB radio Sunday. “In Tokyo, we have repeatedly reminded our people to be careful about anything especially from Fukushima," he added. In its briefing before midnight Saturday, the IAEA said the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare found the higher levels in Fukushima and Ibaraki and asked local officials to take protective measures, including a possible ban on the sale of these items. “The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced that radiation levels that exceeded legal limits had been detected in milk produced in the Fukushima area and in certain vegetables in Ibaraki," Graham Andrew, special adviser to the IAEA director-general on scientific and technical affairs, said. Andrew said the ministry had requested the Bureau of Sanitation at the Fukishima Prefectural Office to investigate the relevant information and “take necessary measures." Such measures include identifying the provider of these samples and places where the same lots were distributed and banning sales based on the Food Hygiene Law. He also said measurements made by Japan showed the presence of radionuclides or isotopes, such as Iodine-131 and Cesium-137, on the ground. “This has implications for food and agriculture in affected areas," he said. IAEA said it and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are consulting with the Japanese authorities on measures being taken in these areas related to food and agriculture. Andrew said radiation levels in major Japanese cities have not changed significantly since Friday. He said an IAEA radiation monitoring team took measurements at seven different locations in Tokyo and in the Kanagawa and Chiba Prefectures. Dose rates were well below those which are dangerous to human health, he said. The monitoring team is now on their way to Aizu Wakamatsu City, which is 97 kilometer west of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Iodine in food products Earlier Saturday, the IAEA said the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare confirmed the presence of radioactive iodine contamination in food products measured in the Fukushima Prefecture, the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It said the food products were measured from March 16-18 and indicated the presence of radioactive iodine. To date, no other radioactive isotopes have been shown to increase in the analysis of food products around Fukushima. “Though radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about 8 days and decays naturally within a matter of weeks, there is a short-term risk to human health if radioactive iodine in food is absorbed into the human body. If ingested, it can accumulate in and cause damage to the thyroid. Children and young people are particularly at risk of thyroid damage due to the ingestion of radioactive iodine," it said. Japanese authorities have implemented two critical measures to counter the contamination of food products by radioactive iodine. Last March 16, Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission recommended local authorities to instruct evacuees leaving the 20-kilometer area to ingest stable (not radioactive) iodine. As an established method of prevention, the ingestion of stable iodine can help to prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid. Stable iodine pills and syrup (for children) have been made available at evacuation centers. Second, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has requested an investigation into the possible stop of sales of food products from the Fukushima Prefecture. The IAEA has passed this information to FAO and World Health Organization (WHO) and will continue to report on this development. Situation in tokyo normalizing Meanwhile, Lopez said the situation in Tokyo is starting to normalize, with fuel supplies stabilizing and food supplies in supermarkets and grocery stores being replenished. “Nagno-normalize na sa Tokyo. Nakakakuha ng gas, at ang food supplies nare-replenish sa supermarket at grocery stores (The situation in Tokyo is normalizing. We can get fuel, and food supplies in supermarkets and grocery stores are being replenished)," he said. He said another busload of 11 Filipinos from affected areas arrived in Tokyo early Sunday. Also, he said communications facilities with Fukushima are normalizing, although communications with the northern area of Japan, including parts of Sendai City, remain irregular. “Ang mahirap sa further north (There are still difficulties in communications further north)," he said. — JE, GMA News