Radiation levels in tap water in Tokyo deemed unsafe for infant consumption

The article is from respected Portuguese newspaper Publico.

Here is a quick translation of the first paragraph:

The nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (note the singular, lol), severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11th has reached Tokyo, travelling a distance of 250 kilometers.

A dignitary from the metropolitan government of Tokyo has revealed that a concentration of radioactive iodine twice above the maximum limit for infants (210 becquerels per litre instead of the 100 deemed safe; the limit for adults is 300 becquerels/L) was detected in tap water samples.

The authorities have thus advised against infants consuming it, directly or indirectly through milk formulas.


www.publico.pt...


PS: Would have translated the full article, but I am in a rush and won't have much time for anything until friday...

reply to post by oniris


Well, if they say it´s not safe for children, it´s probably not good for the adults either.

I wouldn´t drink it.

Here's an english article from Bloomberg:

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Tokyo residents should avoid giving tap water to infants after radioactive iodine was found in the city’s supply at levels twice the limit for infants, the metropolitan government said. Iodine-131 was detected at 210 becquerel per kilogram at the Kanamachi purification plant in Tokyo’s Katsushika district, compared with a limit of 100 becquerel per kilogram for infants, the water department said in a statement today. The recommended limit for adults is 300. Children are susceptible to radiation poisoning from iodine, which can accumulate in the thyroid and cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The announcement sent beverage-maker stocks surging in Tokyo trading and caused panic-buying of bottled water in supermarkets.

The Japanese government said today for the first time that eating food produced near the nuclear plant may carry long-term risks because of increasing levels of radiation in vegetables. Milk, Vegetables “We are seeing these figures going up so we are looking at the possibility of levels reaching levels that may harm human health,” Edano said. The government instructed regulators to implement maximum monitoring of domestic seafood, Edano said. The nation consumes about 9 million metric tons of seafood a year, second behind China, according to the website of the Sea Around Us Project, a collaboration between the University of British Columbia and the Pew Environment Group. The levels of radiation found in milk and vegetables so far could cause a slight increase in the number of cancer cases, said Shih-Yew Chen, a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. The prescribed safe limit for iodine-131 in vegetables is set at 2,000 becquerels per kilogram and 500 per kilogram for radioactive cesium. Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered a halt to shipments of leafy vegetables from Fukushima prefecture and shipments of milk and parsley from neighboring Ibaraki prefecture, his office said today. People eating vegetables from Fukushima for the past 10 days will have ingested half the natural level of a year’s worth of radiation, the nation’s health ministry said in a statement.

www.businessweek.com...

Some information on radioactive food in there too.

Children and infants are much more susceptible to the radiation.

Its not good for adults either, but it's worse for the kids.

Originally posted by Miraj
Children and infants are much more susceptible to the radiation.

Its not good for adults either, but it's worse for the kids.

You don´t say.

I meant that the authorities seem to have downplayed some things already. Fact is the water is already contaminated and will only get worse as radiation is still escaping.