Tokyo's tap water unsafe for infants as fears grow for food
Source: Agencies |
March 24, 2011, Thursday
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A SPIKE in radiation levels in Tokyo tap water spurred new fears about food safety yesterday as rising black smoke forced another evacuation of workers trying to stabilize Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear plant.
Radiation has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and seawater since the earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant nearly two weeks ago. Broccoli was added to a list of tainted vegetables.
The death toll continued to rise, with more than 9,400 bodies counted and more than 15,600 people missing.
Concerns about food safety spread to Tokyo after officials said tap water showed elevated levels: 210 becquerels of iodine-131 per liter of water - more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per liter for infants. Another measurement taken later at a different site showed the level was 190 becquerels per liter. The limit for adults is 300 becquerels.
"It is really scary. It is like a vicious negative spiral from the nuclear disaster," said Etsuko Nomura, a mother of two. "We have contaminated milk and vegetables, and now tap water, and I'm wondering what's next."
Infants are particularly vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which can cause thyroid cancer, experts say. The limits refer to sustained consumption rates, and officials urged calm, saying parents should stop giving tap water to babies, but not to worry if the infants had consumed small amounts.
The levels posed no immediate health risk for older children or adults.
Convenience stores around Tokyo began selling out of bottled water soon after the news broke. At one supermarket, clerk Toru Kikutaka said customers were limited to two bottles, but the store still sold out almost immediately.
The latest reported food data showed sharp increases in radioactivity levels in a range of vegetables. In an area about 40 kilometers northwest of the plant, levels for one locally grown leafy green called kukitachina measured 82 times the government's limit for radioactive cesium and 11 times the limit for iodine.
The unsettling new development affecting Japan's largest city, home to some 13 million in the city center, came as nuclear officials struggled to stabilize the stricken reactor 220 kilometers to the north.
The quake and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling systems.
Explosions and fires followed in four of the plant's six reactors, leaking radioactive steam. Progress in cooling the facility has been intermittent, disrupted by rises in radiation, elevated pressure in reactors and overheated storage pools.
The plant operator restored circuitry to bring power to all six units and turned on lights at Unit 3 on Tuesday for the first time since the disaster, a significant step toward restarting the cooling system.
It had hoped to restore power to cooling pumps at the unit within days, but experts warned the work included the risk of sparking fires as electricity is restored through equipment that could have been damaged.
In a new setback, black smoke billowed from Unit 3 yesterday, prompting another evacuation of workers during the afternoon.
Radiation has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and seawater since the earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant nearly two weeks ago. Broccoli was added to a list of tainted vegetables.
The death toll continued to rise, with more than 9,400 bodies counted and more than 15,600 people missing.
Concerns about food safety spread to Tokyo after officials said tap water showed elevated levels: 210 becquerels of iodine-131 per liter of water - more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per liter for infants. Another measurement taken later at a different site showed the level was 190 becquerels per liter. The limit for adults is 300 becquerels.
"It is really scary. It is like a vicious negative spiral from the nuclear disaster," said Etsuko Nomura, a mother of two. "We have contaminated milk and vegetables, and now tap water, and I'm wondering what's next."
Infants are particularly vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which can cause thyroid cancer, experts say. The limits refer to sustained consumption rates, and officials urged calm, saying parents should stop giving tap water to babies, but not to worry if the infants had consumed small amounts.
The levels posed no immediate health risk for older children or adults.
Convenience stores around Tokyo began selling out of bottled water soon after the news broke. At one supermarket, clerk Toru Kikutaka said customers were limited to two bottles, but the store still sold out almost immediately.
The latest reported food data showed sharp increases in radioactivity levels in a range of vegetables. In an area about 40 kilometers northwest of the plant, levels for one locally grown leafy green called kukitachina measured 82 times the government's limit for radioactive cesium and 11 times the limit for iodine.
The unsettling new development affecting Japan's largest city, home to some 13 million in the city center, came as nuclear officials struggled to stabilize the stricken reactor 220 kilometers to the north.
The quake and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling systems.
Explosions and fires followed in four of the plant's six reactors, leaking radioactive steam. Progress in cooling the facility has been intermittent, disrupted by rises in radiation, elevated pressure in reactors and overheated storage pools.
The plant operator restored circuitry to bring power to all six units and turned on lights at Unit 3 on Tuesday for the first time since the disaster, a significant step toward restarting the cooling system.
It had hoped to restore power to cooling pumps at the unit within days, but experts warned the work included the risk of sparking fires as electricity is restored through equipment that could have been damaged.
In a new setback, black smoke billowed from Unit 3 yesterday, prompting another evacuation of workers during the afternoon.
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