Countries roll out preventive measures (To go with ‘Will Japan’s radiation leak reach India?’)
March 21st, 2011 - 6:23 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Here’s a look at what other nations are doing to protect themselves against the radiation leak from Japan’s quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant:
China: It has increased monitoring of radiation levels, and fears of radioactive contamination have prompted panic-buying of iodised salt.
The authorities are checking food items imported from Japan, such as fish, strawberries and potatoes, to detect contamination. Media reports said the local markets were facing a shortage of iodine pills.
Thailand: The Thai Public Health Ministry has prepared to hand out 15,000 iodine pills at the Suvarnabhumi Airport to those travelling to Japan.
Health authorities have also started screening passengers arriving from Japan.
South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines are also testing Japanese food imports for radiation.
Across Canada and the US, authorities are assuring the people that radiation leak at Japan will not affect North America.
“Given the thousands of kilometres between Japan and Canada’s west coast, any radioactive material that might be pushed eastward via wind patterns is expected to be dispersed over the ocean before it reaches US,” the Centre for Disease Control said Saturday in an update on its website.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention posted on its website that it “does not recommend that people in the United States take Potassium Iodide or iodine supplements in response to the nuclear power plant explosions in Japan”.
The World Health Organisation’s take on Japan: “The actions proposed by the government of Japan are in line with the existing recommendations based on public health expertise. The government is asking people living within 20 km of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to evacuate and those between 20 km and 30 km away from the plant are asked to stay indoors in unventilated rooms.”
- Will Japan's radiation leak reach India? - Mar 21, 2011
- Chinese fear radiation from Japan, buying iodine pills - Mar 17, 2011
- Chinese seawater safe from radiation - Mar 18, 2011
- Radioactive iodine detected in Tokyo tap water - Mar 19, 2011
- Radiation from Japan nuclear disaster reaches Canada - Mar 29, 2011
- Radiation rises to 1,000 times above normal level near Fukushima plant - May 04, 2011
- Blast rocks Japanese nuclear power plant, reactor container not damaged - Mar 12, 2011
- Outflow of highly radioactive water from Japan n-plant stops (Lead) - Apr 06, 2011
- High radiation water found outside Japan's Fukushima nuke plant - Mar 29, 2011
- Japan battles to reduce pressure on quake damaged nuke plants - Mar 12, 2011
- China detects 'extremely low level radiation' from Japan - Mar 29, 2011
- Japan's nuke plant radiation traces detected in US - Mar 29, 2011
- Radioactive iodine 4,385 times legal limit found in sea water near Fukushima nuke plant - Mar 31, 2011
- Complications arise in radioactive water removal at Japan's Fukushima nuke plant - Mar 31, 2011
- Radioactive levels at Fukushima lower than earlier reported:Kyodo - Mar 28, 2011
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