Japanese bid to calm radiation fears.NUCLEAR CRISIS

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NUCLEAR CRISIS
Japanese bid to calm radiation fears
By PONGPHON SARNSAMAK
The Nation 2011-04-28

Govt agencies reasssured about safety of edibles from Japan

In a bid to calm radiation contamination fears, the Japanese Embassy has reassured Thai government agencies and the private sector over its efforts to bring the crisis at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant to an end.

It also insisted Japan was doing everything in its power to ensure the safety of Japanese food.

"The Japanese government is now working with international organisations to deal with the crisis and limit the impact of the nuclear accident that people are worried about," Masato Ohtaka, economy minister at the Embassy of Japan said yesterday.

He was speaking at a conference entitled "The current situation of the nuclear accident at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station" organised by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

More than 500 participants from the private sector, industry and state agencies attended the event.

"We have always considered Thailand our best friend because Thais have helped Japan for a long time. We do not want our best friends like Thailand to be afraid of Japan," he said. "We hope that our best friends will understand the situation that is happening now and that this will strengthen the relationship between our two countries in the future."

Since the enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, more than 14,000 people have been confirmed dead, while 11,000 are still missing.

The earthquake and tsunami affected four nuclear power stations with 14 units: Onagawa, Fukushima Dai-Ichi, Fukushima Dai-Ni and Tokai Dai-Ni.

"After the earthquake, all nuclear plants automatically shut themselves down," Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organisation (JNES) vice president Tatsuo Sato said.

However, he said his agency was trying to find a way to prepare Fukushima Dai-Ichi's units 3,4 and 5 for cold shutdown, as well as a way to resolve the problem of the nuclear fuel rods that were now being kept in water tanks. A 20km radius around the plant has been designated a no-entry zone and planned evacuation zone. A 30km radius around the plant has been designated an emergency evacuation preparation area.

JNES is now trying to contain the spread of radioactive substances in the sea, soil and atmosphere.

Sato said the water surrounding Fukushima Dai-Ichi's unit 2, which had a high level of radioactive contamination, would be made safe using chemical substances and kept in a waste-storage building. After the recovery, water would be reused at the nuclear plant.

Experts are also making efforts to prevent dispersal of radioactive substances by spraying synthetic materials on the ground and debris.

Sato said Tohoku Electric Power Co (TEPCO) monitored radioactivity levels every 10 minutes and released the results immediately. Radioactivity levels rose on March 15, but have since fallen and remain low.

Japan also inspects radioactivity in food every day and restricts distribution of food that fails to meet provisional regulation values, taking into consideration the spread of contamination.

As of April 25, agricultural products in Fukushima prefecture including raw milk, non-head-type leafy vegetables such as spinach, head-type leafy vegetables like cabbage, and broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, log-grown shiitake and juvenile Japanese sand lance, could not be distributed.

Spinach from Ibaraki prefecture and Tochihi prefecture is also banned from distribution.

The number of contaminated food products has been reduced. Radioactive contamination of food products is still being reported in Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures in small quantities.

Sato added that no fisheries were in Fukushima prefecture.

To ensure the safety of drinking water, the Japanese government has implemented measures based on stringent criteria for radionuclides, monitoring the radionuclide level every day.

On March 23, a high level of radionuclides in drinking water was detected, but now the contamination was under the detectable level.

The Cabinet Office of Japan estimated that the earthquake and tsunami had caused damage worth US$195 billion to $305 billion (Bt5.8 trillion to Bt9.1 trillion).

In the short term, Japanese state agencies will clear debris, build temporary housing and rehabilitate industrial facilities.

In the medium and long term, creating disaster-resilient local communities, an eco-friendly social system and a welfare-oriented society will be goals.

"However, TEPCO and the National Energy Committee still have not come up with resolutions to designate concrete measures to resolve the problems," Sato said.