IAEA chief calls for nuclear safety summit

The head of the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) has called for a high-level conference on nuclear safety in the wake of the threat to Japan posed by a quake-crippled nuclear plant. IAEA director general Yukiya Amano said that while the crisis is not yet over, "we need to start thinking about the future." "I would therefore like to propose that a high-level IAEA conference on Nuclear Safety should take place here in Vienna before the summer," Amano said. According to him, the conference should cover the following points:

* An initial assessment of the Fukushima accident, its impact and consequences; * Considering the lessons that need to be learned; * Launching the process of strengthening nuclear safety; and * Strengthening the response to nuclear accidents and emergencies.

"The work ahead will be substantial. I firmly believe that the IAEA is the best venue for follow-up on the Fukushima accident. We have the necessary expertise, extensive membership and can ensure transparency," he said. He also said that once the situation has been stabilized, the Agency would like to send an international expert mission to conduct an assessment of the accident. This should include an element of peer review, he said. He added tat it is important that "we learn the right lessons from what happened on March 11, and afterward, in order to strengthen nuclear safety throughout the world." Amano said the situation remains very serious and the priority now is to overcome the crisis, but added they are also planning ahead. "For now, radioactivity in the environment, foodstuffs and water – including the sea – is a matter of concern in the vicinity of the Fukushima plant and beyond. Current levels indicate a need for further comprehensive monitoring," Amano said. Amano is to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of agencies again later this week at the Chief Executives' Board meeting in Kenya to strengthen coordination.
Click here for larger version Vegetables 'contaminated' Vegetables from at least six prefectures near a quake-crippled nuclear power plant in Japan have been contaminated with radioactive particles, the International Atomic Energy Commission said late Monday. Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the IAEA Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs, said the samples were taken last March 26 and 27. "As far as food contamination is concerned, samples reported from 26 to 27 March in six prefectures (Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Niigata, Tochigi and Yamagata) reported iodine-131 in asparagus, cabbage, celery, chive, cucumber, eggplant, leek, mushrooms, parsley, tomato, spinach and other leafy vegetables, strawberries and watermelon. One sample of hana wasabi taken on 24 March in Fukushima prefecture was above the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities," he said. He also said Caesium-137 was measured above the regulation value in the same sample of hana wasabi. But in the remaining five prefectures, caesium-137 was not detected or the results were below regulation values, he said. Andrew said a joint Food and Agriculture Organization-IAEA Food Safety Assessment Team met with local government authorities in Fukushima on Sunday and discussed issues related to food contamination. These issues included standards and sampling plan designs for radio nuclides in food and the environment, radionuclide transfer from soil to plants, and mitigation strategies. He said the FAO-IAEA team also met with the local authority in Ibaraki prefecture today, and will have meetings with local government officials in Tochigi and Gunma Tuesday. Monitoring of iodine-131 and cesium-137 in drinking water is also ongoing, Andrew said. "Iodine-131 has been monitored by the Japanese authorities in 2 of 10 samples taken in the Fukushima prefecture with values of 60 and 90 becquerel per litre. In the Ibaraki prefectures, iodine-131 was detected in 2 of 9 samples, the values were 40 and 90 becquerel per liter. The Japanese limits for the ingestion of drinking water by infants is 100 becquerel per liter," he said. Seawater samples New results from the marine monitoring stations 30 km off-shore were received for seawater samples taken on 26 March. The levels decreased at most of the locations, IAEA said. For iodine-131 the concentration results for four monitoring stations are between 6 to 18 becquerel per liter, and for caesium-137 between - below limit of detection - and 16 becquerel per liter. The dose rates measured on the sea surface remain relatively low between 0.04 and 0.1 microsievert per hour. Samples collected on 26 March 330 meters east of the discharge point showed increasing concentrations. There were found to be 74,000 becquerel per liter for iodine-131, 12,000 becquerel per liter for caesium-137, and 12,000 becquerel per liter for caesium-134. "It is still too early to draw conclusions for expected concentrations in marine food, because the situation can change rapidly. Modeling results show an initial north-eastern transport of liquid releases from the damaged reactors," the IAEA said. — LBG, GMA News