Radiation reached around 20 times normal levels in the capital Tuesday morning, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said, while offering the assurance this reading posed no immediate risk to human health and that the public should remain calm.
“I received a report this morning that there was an important change of data,” Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said at a news conference. “I heard that it will not immediately cause health problems.”
He said the metropolitan government would continue to give minute-by-minute updates.
At a metropolitan facility in Setagaya Ward, “a very small amount” of iodine and cesium, substances generated by a nuclear reaction, were detected in floating dust particles between midnight and 7:12 a.m.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110316a2.html
Radiation levels in Tokyo, one of the world’s most populous cities, rose 10 times above average Tuesday evening, spreading fear among many of the 33 million residents in the metropolitan area.
The best advice experts could give them was to stay indoors, close the windows and avoid breathing bad air — steps very similar to those for handling a smog alert or avoiding influenza.
While these steps may sound inconsequential, experts said the danger in Tokyo, while worrisome, is slight – at least for now.
“Everything I’ve seen so far suggests there have been nominal amounts of material released. Therefore, the risks are generally low to the population,” Jerrold Bushberg, who directs programs in health physics at the University of California at Davis, said in a telephone interview.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-japan-quake-health-idUSTRE72E9DL20110315
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Radiation levels in Tokyo surged to 23 times normal on Tuesday, according to reports that cited readings released by the Tokyo metropolitan government. Radiation levels of .809 micro sieverts were recorded in central Tokyo at 10.00 a.m. local time (9.00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time), reports said. Southerly winds are believed to be pushing a radioactive plume from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which lies about 150 miles north of Tokyo.
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