DA to buy portable Geiger counters to check Japan products

The government will be purchasing handheld Geiger counters to screen produce, plants, and food stuff coming from Japan for nuclear contamination, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that the DA has ordered portable Geiger counters, to be used to check for radioactivity levels of goods brought in by tourists and importers. “We have asked specifications from the DOST [Department of Science and Technology]. We have asked for bidding for the equipment," Alcala said in a media interview. Addressing the lack of equipment The portable Geiger counters will be used in airports and ports to ensure that products and plants entering the country are not contaminated with hazardous radiation. Alcala noted that food products and plants coming from Japan must have acceptable levels of radiation before they can enter the country. Agricultural products must have clearance from health authorities and laboratories that they have safe radiation levels. The DA has expressed concern that hand-carried agricultural products such as dairy and plants from Japan are not checked for nuclear contamination at the airports due to lack of equipment. Temporary ban on some products The DA's announcement came shortly after it imposed a temporary ban on food and agricultural and plant products from six prefectures affected by the nuclear radiation in Japan from entering the Philippines. In a memorandum issued April 18, the DA suspended the import clearance of food and agricultural products coming from six prefectures that were affected by nuclear contamination from the damaged Daiichi nuclear plants in Fukushima. The six areas were identified as: of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Iwata, and Miyagi. Import restrictions in other countries Japan is grappling with the disastrous aftermath of the magnitude 9 earthquake that spawned a tsunami, which drowned the northeast region of the country. The tsunami destroyed the Daiichi nuclear power plants, plunging Japan into a Level 7 nuclear crisis. The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster was classified as Level 7, the highest level on a 7-step nuclear incident scale. As of April 11, 2011, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, United States, Canada, Russia, EU, Brazil and Mexico have imposed partial or total restriction of food products from Japan following the nuclear disaster. — TJD, GMA News