Tokyo Issues Tap Water Warning for Infants
By DAVID JOLLY and KEVIN DREW
TOKYO — Radioactive iodine detected in the capital’s water supply spurred a warning for infants on Wednesday as the government issued a stark new estimate about the costs of rebuilding from the earthquake and tsunami that slammed into the northeast of the country this month.
Ei Yoshida, head of water purification for the Tokyo water department, said at a televised news conference that infants in Tokyo and surrounding areas should not drink tap water. He said iodine-131 had been detected in water samples at a level of 210 becquerels per liter. The recommended limit for infants is 100 becquerels per liter.
For adults, the recommended limit is 300 becquerels.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that it was unlikely that there would be negative consequences to infants who did drink the water, but said it should be avoided if possible and that it should not be used to make infant formula.
The warning applies to the 23 wards of Tokyo, as well as the towns of Mitaka, Tama, Musashino, Machida and Inagi to the west of the city.
The announcement about the water added to the growing anxiety about public safety posed by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station which was severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the public should avoid additional farm produce from areas near the power station because of contamination, according to Japanese media.
The government found radioactive materials at levels exceeding legal limits in 11 vegetables in Fukushima Prefecture, the Kyodo news agency reported. Shipments of the affected vegetables from Fukushima Prefecture ended on Monday.
On Wednesday, Mr. Kan also suspended shipment of raw milk and parsley from neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture, Kyodo reported.
Meanwhile, the United States Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it would prohibit imports of dairy goods and produce from the affected region.
The spread of a small amount of radiation is inevitable, considering the steam that is generated as emergency workers spray water on damaged reactors and cooling pools at the Fukushima complex. Government and company officials were nonetheless expressing increasing optimism that the crisis was closer to being brought under control.
Officials said Wednesday on morning that they were hoping that power to cooling pumps would be restored at many of the six reactors in the next few days, and said they were planning to test the cooling system on Reactor No. 3 later in the day.
But black smoke began rising from No. 3 in the afternoon, leading the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, to evacuate workers from the area. No flames were visible, the company said.
Rebuilding after the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami, which ravaged the northeastern coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, will cost from $197 billion to $309 billion, Mr. Kan’s office said on Wednesday.
The government raised the death toll on Wednesday to more than 9,400, and said more than 14,000 were missing, although officials said there could be overlap between the two figures.
Ei Yoshida, head of water purification for the Tokyo water department, said at a televised news conference that infants in Tokyo and surrounding areas should not drink tap water. He said iodine-131 had been detected in water samples at a level of 210 becquerels per liter. The recommended limit for infants is 100 becquerels per liter.
For adults, the recommended limit is 300 becquerels.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that it was unlikely that there would be negative consequences to infants who did drink the water, but said it should be avoided if possible and that it should not be used to make infant formula.
The warning applies to the 23 wards of Tokyo, as well as the towns of Mitaka, Tama, Musashino, Machida and Inagi to the west of the city.
The announcement about the water added to the growing anxiety about public safety posed by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station which was severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the public should avoid additional farm produce from areas near the power station because of contamination, according to Japanese media.
The government found radioactive materials at levels exceeding legal limits in 11 vegetables in Fukushima Prefecture, the Kyodo news agency reported. Shipments of the affected vegetables from Fukushima Prefecture ended on Monday.
On Wednesday, Mr. Kan also suspended shipment of raw milk and parsley from neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture, Kyodo reported.
Meanwhile, the United States Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it would prohibit imports of dairy goods and produce from the affected region.
The spread of a small amount of radiation is inevitable, considering the steam that is generated as emergency workers spray water on damaged reactors and cooling pools at the Fukushima complex. Government and company officials were nonetheless expressing increasing optimism that the crisis was closer to being brought under control.
Officials said Wednesday on morning that they were hoping that power to cooling pumps would be restored at many of the six reactors in the next few days, and said they were planning to test the cooling system on Reactor No. 3 later in the day.
But black smoke began rising from No. 3 in the afternoon, leading the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, to evacuate workers from the area. No flames were visible, the company said.
Rebuilding after the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami, which ravaged the northeastern coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, will cost from $197 billion to $309 billion, Mr. Kan’s office said on Wednesday.
The government raised the death toll on Wednesday to more than 9,400, and said more than 14,000 were missing, although officials said there could be overlap between the two figures.
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