'Tiny' radiation in the Philippines detected, but no danger

MANILA, Philippines - Small amounts of radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant have been detected in the Philippines, the government said Tuesday, while emphasizing the traces posed no danger to humans.

"We have detected the isotopes, but we would like to ask the public not to panic. These are very tiny amounts in the air," Tina Cerbolis, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, told the Agence France-Presse.

"Environmental radiation monitoring all over the world, including the Philippines, has detected very tiny amounts of radioactive isotopes which appeared to be coming from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and which pose no human health hazards," the PNRI said in its latest bulletin on the effects of the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, the PNRI said radiation levels at the agency's immediate area was at 93-115 nanoSieverts per hour (nSv/h), which is "normal."

"Based on the PAGASA [Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration] model, air parcel coming from northern Japan is forecasted to move east towards the Pacific Ocean for the next three days," it said.

This comes as the condition at the Japan nuclear plant "remains very serious but not worsening."

"Extremely high levels of radiation (10 million times normal) appeared to be a reporting error and had been retracted by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Nevertheless, high levels of radiation remain inside the nuclear power plant but pose danger only to the emergency workers," the bulletin said.

For the latest information, the PNRI is advising the public to access the following websites:

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (http://www.iaea.org)


• Nuclear and Industrial Safety Administration (NISA) of Japan (www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/index.html)


• World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/en/index.html)

"For further advisories, please call the PNRI trunklines with Tel Nos. 929-6010 to 19," or visit the websites of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) (www.dost.gov.ph), the PNRI (www.pnri.dost.gov.ph), or the Science and Technology Information Institute (www.stii.dost.gov.ph).

China and South Korea, which are nearer to Japan, also reported on Tuesday that small amounts of radioactive iodine-131 had been detected in their territories, while similarly warning they were not harmful to humans.

The nearest major Philippine coastline to the stricken plant is about 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) to its southwest, with the Philippine capital Manila around 500 kilometers further. With the Agence France-Presse

 

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