nuclear-news

Empowering Japanese people with knowledge about nuclear radiation

Journalists must empower those who have to stay near Fukushima plant (Part 4), Mainichi Daily News, 25 Oct 11  Eight days after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant began to unfold, samples of spinach and raw milk were found to be contaminated with radioactive iodine in amounts exceeding the provisional permissible amount set by the Food Sanitation Act.

Government officials have tried to underplay the dangers with messages such as, “It’s all right as long as you’re not eating 4,200 servings of spinach,” and “Even drinking 1 liter of milk every day will not cause any problems.”

However, the problem boils down to how much radiation we’re exposed to at the dinner table. As radiation contamination fears spread to water, vegetables and fish, we decided that releasing the reference dosages of radiation found in various food products, including those that were found to have lower-than-maximum levels of radiation permitted by the government, would help the public feel more at ease in the decisions they make. We asked radiation experts to come up with the numbers, which we published in the Mainichi’s April 5 morning issue.

As the crisis continued, there came a shift in the focus of concern from radioactive iodine to cesium, which has a longer half-life than the former and was detected in beef and tea leaves. In addition, a growing number of people began to feel that the maximum permissible amounts set by the government were too high. To allay consumers’ fears and prevent foods from being rejected by the public merely because of where they had been produced, it is necessary to find ways for individuals to learn how much radiation they have been personally exposed to through food.

We also looked at the impact of radiation-tainted soil on children. The regulations on outdoor activity issued by the government in late April said that it was permissible for children to be exposed to up to 20 millisieverts of radiation per year — the same level of radiation at which an area would be designated a “planned evacuation zone.” We felt it was too high for children, who are more easily affected by radiation than adults. On May 23, we reported on the decontamination efforts taking place in the disaster areas, along with testimony from experts arguing that children’s radiation exposure limits should be lowered. Parents of children in Fukushima also protested against the government’s numbers, and in August the government revised the maximum permissible exposure to radiation for children down to 1 millisievert per year….

October 25, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan