THREAT OF RADIATION FROM JAPAN REAL - FDA / FIRE FROM BLAST LAST TUESDAY
INCREASED FEAR
[PHOTO - (From left to right) Dr. Suzette Henares-Lazo, director of the Department of Food and Drug Administration, Ms. Agnette Peralta, director of the Philippine Bureau of Health Devices and Technology, and Dr. Alumanda de la Rosa, director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, attend the Senate hearing on the effects of possible radiation exposure from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan yesterday. Jonjon Vicencio]
MANILA, APRIL 7, 2011 (STAR) By Marvin Sy - The threat of radiation from Japan reaching Philippine shores is real and should not be ignored, a professor and toxicology expert told the Senate yesterday.
During a public hearing of the Senate committee on health and demography on the effects of possible radiation exposure from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, University of the Philippines professor Dr. Romeo Quijano cited two studies from the French nuclear institute and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, both of which showed that radioactive fallout would reach the Philippines and the rest of the world sooner or later.
He said the nuclear radiation could enter the country through wind or water, so it is very important for all the concerned government agencies to improve all existing monitoring systems.
Philippine National Research Institute (PNRI) director Dr. Alumanda de la Rosa said that they have a radionuclide monitoring station in Tanay, Rizal and that monitoring is done everyday.
Food imported from Japan is also constantly monitored using portal monitors installed at the Port of Manila and by testing the samples of the products submitted by the regulatory agencies.
Quijano said testing the air is not enough if the intention is to see the whole radiation fallout picture.
He said better information would be derived through soil deposition because the radionuclide accumulation in the soil would be a useful measure of radiation.
Quijano also noted that testing of food products should not be limited to Japan but also other countries where contamination may have already occurred.
He said there is no such thing as a safe dosage of radiation exposure and that the standards set by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) were not based on science.
Japan Nuclear Crisis: Radiation Exposure Fears Grow After Blast, Fire – FROM ABC News APRIL 7, 2011
The threat of radiation exposure rose Tuesday following an explosion and fire at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which prompted officials to warn people in a 19-mile radius to stay indoors.
"Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight. Don't turn on ventilators. Please hang your laundry indoors," Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano said to the residents in the danger zone. "These are figures that potentially affect health. There is no mistake about that."
The International Atomic Energy Agency said radiation dose rates of up to 400 millisievert per hour had been reported at the Fukushima power plant site. That compares with a normal background level of about 3 millisieverts.
According to the Associated Press, the warning covered about 140,000 people near the plant, which was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan last week.
Hours after the explosion and fire, elevated levels of radiation were detected in Tokyo, 175 miles away, though government officials said there was no health risk there, according to the Associated Press.
The explosion, which occurred at 6:10 a.m. local time Tuesday came shortly after the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were shut down.
While the previous explosions at Fukushima Daiichi reactors Nos. 1 and 3 were hydrogen blasts caused by a buildup of steam in the reactor units, the new blast at reactor No. 2 has officials very concerned.
This time, the roof did not blow off and it's now believed the trapped pressure cracked the containment vessel around the reactor's core – allowing radioactive material to seep out.
"It is likely that the level of radiation increased sharply due to a fire at Unit 4," Edano said. "Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening. Far away, the levels should be lower."
Also, Japanese officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency that the fire at unit 4 was "a pool where nuclear fuel is kept cool," the Associated Press reported.
The blaze has since been extinguished.
And for the first time, nearly 800 workers at the plant were told to leave.
Katsaki Mitsui, an expert at Japan's Institute of Applied Technology told NHK TV that it's a "very serious" situation around the plant.
"I don't think you're going to see acute deaths or something like that, even with it [radiation levels] so high. I would not walk around," he said.
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