Travelers from Japan don't need radiation tests -PNRI

Travelers from Japan do not have to undergo radiation screening, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) said. In its bulletin number 11 issued Wednesday, March 23, the PNRI rejected media reports saying that it has recommended routine screening for travelers from the earthquake-stricken country, which is currently facing a Level 5 nuclear accident. “No abnormal amount of radioactivity was found on travelers from Japan who requested scanning from the PNRI," the agency said. WHO: Screening not required “According to the World Health Organization (WHO), travelers returning from Japan who have come from beyond the 20-km evacuation zone surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and who have undergone proper screening and decontamination procedures in Japan, and travelers from all other areas, do not pose a radioactive health risk to others and do not require screening," it added. On Tuesday, media reports revealed that a Japanese-Filipino family from Fukushima, where the disabled nuclear reactors are located, voluntarily had themselves tested for radioactivity at the PNRI recently. The agency said the family of 3 have normal radiation levels. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it would put two monitoring teams in Japan to check for radioactivity in the atmosphere as technicians continue to cool the crippled reactors in the Fukushima plants. Close monitoring by IAEA “In the coming days the IAEA will have two monitoring teams in Japan. One team will be in the Fukishima area and a separate team will undertake monitoring in Tokyo and the surrounding area," the agency said in its bulletin. IAEA said it continued to monitor gamma dose rates and beta-gamma contamination in Fukushima, where high levels of contamination have been measured. “The IAEA took measurements at additional locations between 35 to 68 km from the Fukushima plant. The dose-rate results ranged from 0.8 to 9.1 microsieverts per hour. The beta-gamma contamination measurements ranged from 0.08 to 0.9 MBq per square metre. More precise interpretation of the results will be possible based on measurements to be made of the composition of the radioactive material that has been released," the IAEA said. — TJD, GMA News