Government to check safety of Japan products

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said it would be checking radiation levels on manufactured Japanese products following health warnings from the World Health Organization. “The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in coordination with the DOST-PNRI is already measuring baseline radioactivity levels in food samples imported from Japan," the PNRI said in its advisory. Dr. Alumanda dela Rosa, PNRI chief, said the results of the tests were submitted to the FDA on Tuesday afternoon. “Discussion among government agencies headed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), DOST, PNRI, National Dairy Authority (NDA), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has begun in order to address the concern of the public regarding imported food items from Japan," the Tuesday advisory said. “The PNRI will continue to conduct radioactivity measurements in food as needed," it added. Products likely to be safe PNRI said portal monitors previously installed in the Port of Manila are already scanning container vans for radioactivity. Meanwhile, in a recent interview, Agnette Peralta, director of the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology, said the PNRI have the capability to examine the radiation of products from Japan such as noodles and chocolates. Electronic products from Japan are likely to be safe from the effects of nuclear leak, Peralta said. “These are made indoors," she explained. Peralta also noted that the Philippines imports few food items from Japan and most of these are manufactured products. Certification of imported products Because of fears of high radioactive materials in food, importers who purchase from Japan would have to provide certification that their products do not have abnormally high radioactive content, Peralta said. “This happened after Chernobyl. All products from Europe were checked," she said. Peralta was referring to the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in 1986, the worst nuclear accident the world has witnessed so far. The Chernobyl accident was Level 7 in the 7-step International Nuclear Event Scale, which means its effects are widespread and long-lasting. The crippled nuclear reactors in Fukushima are classified as Level 5, which means its effects are beyond the local environment. Workers have been scrambling to put under control the temperature in the cooling reactors of the earthquake-damaged Dai-ichi nuclear plants after power supply was cut off by the magnitude 9 tremor and the tsunami it generated. On Monday, the World Health Organization said radiation in food was a “serious" situation. Fears that food from Japan have been contaminated by radiation after the Japanese government banned the sale of milk and spinach from the Fukushima area. Measuring radiation around Fukushima The International Atomic Energy Agency said Japanese authorities have started to measure the radioactive content of the waters around Fukishima Daiichi plants. “The monitoring will be conducted from 22-23 March by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Sea water sampling from eight locations will be sampled and analysed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), and results will be provided on 24 March," the agency said. “The analysis will include radionuclide concentrations found in sea water and dose rate. The IAEA will continue to follow this information," it added. — TJD/HS, GMA News