LATEST:Tokyo hit by 8.9 mag earthquake and 10-m high tsunami

[Way2GO]

By MINORU MATSUTANI

Staff writer

Radioactive iodine exceeding the government's regulated level for infants was detected Wednesday in water in a purification plant in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, prompting the metropolitan government to advise residents not to let babies younger than 1 year old drink tap water or powdered milk made with tap water, in the 23 wards and five cities.

The iodine-131 was detected in water taken Tuesday from the Kanamachi Purification Plant. The level was 210 becquerels per liter of water, more than double the recommended level of 100 becquerels for infants stipulated in the Food Sanitation Act, according to Ei Yoshida, manager of Tokyo's Waterworks Bureau.

\"The level is not dangerous unless you keep drinking the water for a long period of time,\" Yoshida told a news conference. \"If there is nothing else to drink, you can let babies drink the water every once in a while.\"

Water from the plant goes to all of 23 wards as well as the suburbs of Musashino, Mitaka, Machida, Tama and Inagi in western Tokyo.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry backed Yoshida's remark.

\"The regulated level, 100 becquerels per liter, is a level at which people can have babies drink for a long time without worrying about radiation,\" said Kazuya Kumagai of the ministry's Water Supply Division.

He advised parents to use bottled water to make powdered milk, but added that they shouldn't panic even if babies have drunk tap water.

Later in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano offered assurances that adults can drink tap water and use it in everyday life.

If stores run out of bottled water, boiling faucet water will help reduce toxicity to some extent, radiation experts said.

Immediately after the announcement by the metropolitan government, a team of radiotherapists, physicists and nuclear engineers at the University of Tokyo released their take on the contamination of tap water on the group's Twitter account.

\"Iodine-131, when contained in water, can be removed to some extent by boiling it,\" the team said.

Iodine-131's half-life — the period by which the radiation level is halved — is eight days.

For all people over the age of 1, 300 becquerels per liter of water is the standard regulated level, but pregnant and breast-feeding women may want to tighten the standard to 100 becquerels per liter, Kumagai said.

The metropolitan government collected water from its Kanamachi, Asaka and Ozaku purification plants Tuesday to check the density of radioactive substances.
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Ref. bold text
In essence, radioactive iodine cannot be removed by boiling.
If it can be, then d iodine 131 released into the atmosphere in Fukushima reactors shd hv simply boiled off when d water was converted to steam.
Wat I think d team means is dat when water is boiled, some iodine 131 in d water is carried out of d water with d evaporated steam.
Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Daddy D]

Way2GO:

In essence, radioactive iodine cannot be removed by boiling.
If it can be, then d iodine 131 released into the atmosphere in Fukushima reactors shd hv simply boiled off when d water was converted to steam.
Wat I think d team means is dat when water is boiled, some iodine 131 in d water is carried out of d water with d evaporated steam.
Please correct me if I am wrong.

I think they're just trying to downplay the whole thing... so as not to cause widespread panic... but don't think everyone believes what the \"experts\" or government is telling them...

Basically it's eat and drink at your own risk... if there's side effects (if any), nobody will know anyway... not at least for another 30 odd years or so...

:celebrate:

[Daddy D]

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_649114.html


\"FOUR shipments of Japanese vegetables which arrived in Singapore will be destroyed after traces of radioactive contaminants were found in samples from them...
All the vegetables, totalling 144kg, were recalled successfully, except for 200g which had gone to a restaurant. \"

You call this recalled successfully?
I call this... trying too hard to downplay the situation...

:stupid:

[Way2GO]

Hmm, is AVA set up to protect consumers or to protect eateries?

[smurf]

Way2GO:

there hv been only 3 major nuclear crisis:
Chernobyl

Erm, actually there are more than 15...Except that Chernobyl one is the most jia lak one..

[MummyThreeStreams]

Daddy

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_649114.html


\"FOUR shipments of Japanese vegetables which arrived in Singapore will be destroyed after traces of radioactive contaminants were found in samples from them...
All the vegetables, totalling 144kg, were recalled successfully, except for 200g which had gone to a restaurant. \"

You call this recalled successfully?
I call this... trying too hard to downplay the situation...

:stupid:

To be fair, the 200g they didn't reach is a minuscule amount compared to the entire shipment of 144kg. It's like 0.14% of the batch. I don't think anyone is trying to downplay the situation. In fact, it gives me quite a bit of confidence in their ability to track the food that's imported.

My heart goes out to the people of Japan. I have friends there, and I can't imagine how they feel right now. They are dealing with the tragedy of the earthquake and tsunami, and now, they can't really move on to rebuilding, because they are caught up wih fears of radioactive contamination.

[SAHM_TAN]

Daddy

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_649114.html


\"FOUR shipments of Japanese vegetables which arrived in Singapore will be destroyed after traces of radioactive contaminants were found in samples from them...
All the vegetables, totalling 144kg, were recalled successfully, except for 200g which had gone to a restaurant. \"

You call this recalled successfully?
I call this... trying too hard to downplay the situation...

:stupid:

Be thankful that they reported that the team lost 200g. But I thought the food will not move till given the green light? How did 200g of veggie transported to the resturant? Wonder were the people from the resturant handling the veggie contaminated?

[Daddy D]

SAHM_TAN:

Daddy

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_649114.html


\"FOUR shipments of Japanese vegetables which arrived in Singapore will be destroyed after traces of radioactive contaminants were found in samples from them...
All the vegetables, totalling 144kg, were recalled successfully, except for 200g which had gone to a restaurant. \"

You call this recalled successfully?
I call this... trying too hard to downplay the situation...

:stupid:

Be thankful that they reported that the team lost 200g. But I thought the food will not move till given the green light? How did 200g of veggie transported to the resturant? Wonder were the people from the resturant handling the veggie contaminated?

Yes be thankful... but I don't always believe 100% of those reported in the news.

[Way2GO]

smurf:

Erm, actually there are more than 15...Except that Chernobyl one is the most jia lak one..

Issit?
I only know of 3 major incidents.
Which r d other > 12 incidents?

[SAHM_TAN]

Daddy

SAHM_TAN:

[quote=\"Daddy D\"]http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_649114.html


\"FOUR shipments of Japanese vegetables which arrived in Singapore will be destroyed after traces of radioactive contaminants were found in samples from them...
All the vegetables, totalling 144kg, were recalled successfully, except for 200g which had gone to a restaurant. \"

You call this recalled successfully?
I call this... trying too hard to downplay the situation...

:stupid:

Be thankful that they reported that the team lost 200g. But I thought the food will not move till given the green light? How did 200g of veggie transported to the resturant? Wonder were the people from the resturant handling the veggie contaminated?

Yes be thankful... but I don't always believe 100% of those reported in the news.[/quote]The general public will not have 100% truth, only people in the know has it. We hardly do SingaLeaks