Wind blows radiation out to sea
Source: Agencies |
March 14, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE wind over Japan's earthquake-damaged nuclear complex was shifting from the south to a westerly last night, blowing any radioactivity towards the ocean, a weather official said.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co, is about 240 kilometers north of Tokyo on the country's northeast coast, facing the Pacific Ocean.
The wind was expected to blow from the west until around midnight in the area, the Japan Meteorological Agency official said.
Today the wind will blow from the south-west, then later from north-west.
The wind speed will be around 2 to 3 meters per second, he said. Typically the direction of a wind with that speed tends to change easily in a day.
The direction of the wind is a key factor in judging possible damage to the environment from radiation leaking from the nuclear plant.
South Korea, to the west of Japan, saw little chance of any radiation blowing across its territory.
"We see no impact (from Japan's radiation) so far as the current winds are westerlies," said Lee Durk-hun, head of operational safety analysis at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.
"However, if the winds change, it could affect us, and according to our close monitoring systems, we will prepare measures to prevent any damage."
China, North Korea and Russia's far east are also the closest to Japan, but all lie on the west of the main disaster zone.
Authorities in China's northeastern province of Liaoning have begun monitoring for possible radiation from Japan, but have not yet detected any, Xinhua news agency reported.
"At present the figures are normal and Liaoning has not been affected," said Gao Kui, a local official.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co, is about 240 kilometers north of Tokyo on the country's northeast coast, facing the Pacific Ocean.
The wind was expected to blow from the west until around midnight in the area, the Japan Meteorological Agency official said.
Today the wind will blow from the south-west, then later from north-west.
The wind speed will be around 2 to 3 meters per second, he said. Typically the direction of a wind with that speed tends to change easily in a day.
The direction of the wind is a key factor in judging possible damage to the environment from radiation leaking from the nuclear plant.
South Korea, to the west of Japan, saw little chance of any radiation blowing across its territory.
"We see no impact (from Japan's radiation) so far as the current winds are westerlies," said Lee Durk-hun, head of operational safety analysis at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.
"However, if the winds change, it could affect us, and according to our close monitoring systems, we will prepare measures to prevent any damage."
China, North Korea and Russia's far east are also the closest to Japan, but all lie on the west of the main disaster zone.
Authorities in China's northeastern province of Liaoning have begun monitoring for possible radiation from Japan, but have not yet detected any, Xinhua news agency reported.
"At present the figures are normal and Liaoning has not been affected," said Gao Kui, a local official.
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