Japan finds abnormal radiation in milk, spinach
Japan has detected abnormal levels of radioactivity in milk and spinach in areas near a stricken nuclear plant, but the foods pose no immediate threat to humans, government spokesman Yukio Edano said Saturday.
The contaminated milk was found in Fukushima prefecture, where the quake-damaged atomic power station is located, while the tainted spinach was discovered in neighbouring Ibaraki prefecture, Edano told reporters.
"Radiation exceeding the limit under Japanese law was detected," he said.
The spokesman said the health ministry has ordered authorities in both prefectures to investigate where the products came from, how they were distributed and -- depending on their findings -- suspend sales.
He urged consumers to remain calm, noting that even if a consumer were to drink the contaminated milk for a year, the radiation level would be the equivalent of one CT scan. AFP
Japan advises iodine for people
Japanese authorities earlier this week issued a recommendation that people leaving the area near a tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant should ingest iodine, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday.
Taken as pills or syrup, stable iodine can be used to help protect against thyroid cancer in the case of radioactive exposure in a nuclear accident.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said radiation at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant had stabilised at "significantly higher" levels than normal, but these were still in a range allowing onsite recovery measures.
At the site on Saturday, engineers attached a power cable to the outside of the facility in a desperate attempt to get water pumps going that would cool down overheated fuel rods and prevent the deadly spread of radiation. Reuters
Japan to douse nuclear plant 'around the clock'
Japan's defence minister on Saturday said that teams battling to avert an atomic catastrophe at a stricken nuclear plant would aim to douse reactors with water "around the clock".
"Instead of dumping water in phases we would like to set up an operation that will allow us to continuously inject water," said Toshimi Kitazawa.
Specially equipped vehicles from the Tokyo Fire Department on Saturday resumed water-spraying operations at the number three reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, NHK reported.
So far such efforts to cool the reactors at the stricken plant have taken place intermittently.
On Friday, six military fire trucks unleashed some 50 tonnes of seawater at the plant, located 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
The twin disasters knocked out the plant's reactor cooling systems, sparking a series of explosions and fires. Authorities have since struggled to keep the fuel rods inside reactors, and fuel storage containment pools, under water.
If they are exposed to air, they could degrade further and emit large amounts of dangerous radioactive material. AFP
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