Nuclear fallout from Japan: 'Minimial' impact in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia

Minimal nuclear risk in Singapore
Govt urges public calm as its agencies continue to monitor the situation
Straits Times 16 Mar 11;

THE Singapore Government last night urged the public not to be unduly alarmed by the Fukushima nuclear incident and said there was minimal risk of a radiological plume over the Republic.

It added that its agencies were monitoring radiation levels and food imports from Japan, and that there was currently no need for aircraft and passenger screening.

But as a precaution, returning Singaporeans who were within the evacuation zones on or after last Saturday should go for a medical consultation.

An inter-ministry statement said the Government has been closely monitoring the situation in Japan and assessing its possible impact here.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other overseas experts to get the latest information available.

The IAEA currently categorises the nuclear incident in Fukushima as a Level 4 accident - on a scale that goes up in severity to 7. According to the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, this means that it is an 'accident with local consequences'.

'Although the current situation remains serious in Japan, the incident site is more than 5,000km away,' the statement said.

It added that NEA was conducting daily modelling studies.

Its simulations, and those carried out by the World Meteorological Organisation-designated Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres for Environmental Emergency Response in Tokyo and Melbourne, have shown that 'at such a distance, there is minimal risk of Singapore being affected by the radiological plume'.

Said the statement: 'The public is advised therefore not to be unduly alarmed about exposure to radiation in Singapore arising from the Fukushima accident.'

Nevertheless, the NEA has been tracking the impact on Singapore's radiation levels through its radiation monitoring stations, and 'no abnormal changes in Singapore's radiation levels have been detected so far'.

It said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) was working with its counterparts in Japan and continued to keep a close watch on food imports from Japan.

On its part, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has been monitoring the potential impact of the incident on flights and airport operations. 'Developments so far do not necessitate the screening of aircraft or passengers for radiation,' it said.

But Changi Airport has in place contingency plans to deal with radioactive contamination, and developments are being monitored and reviewed.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) assesses that it is 'highly unlikely' that any Singaporean who was outside the evacuation zones - currently a 20km radius from the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10km radius from the Fukushima Daini plant - will need any form of medical assessment 'as there is negligible risk, if any, of impact on health'.

However, any returning Singaporean who was within the evacuation zones on or after last Saturday should visit the emergency department of a public restructured hospital for a medical consultation when he arrives.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) also reiterated its earlier advisory strongly urging Singaporeans to defer non-essential travel to Japan. Those who must travel there should register with the MFA at www.mfa.gov.sg

Singaporeans in Japan should also take precautions, monitor the local news and take heed of the Japanese government's advice. Those wishing to leave Japan should closely monitor the situation, check with the local authorities as the main access roads to airports may be closed and trains may not be running on schedule, and reconfirm their flights.

MFA has also dispatched additional staff to its embassy in Tokyo.

UN says winds blowing radioactivity to sea
Straits Times 16 Mar 11;

GENEVA: The UN weather agency said yesterday that winds are currently blowing radioactive material towards the ocean, and that there were 'no implications' for Japan or countries nearby.

'All the meteorological conditions are offshore, there are no implications inshore for Japan or other countries near Japan,' Dr Maryam Golnaraghi, who heads the weather agency's disaster risk reduction programme, told journalists.

A World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) spokesman warned, however, that the conditions 'will fluctuate as the weather systems progress'.

Winds yesterday and today in the stricken area will mainly blow towards the east to the open ocean. But if particles are released in the lower levels of the atmosphere today, 'they will be westerly, they will be towards inland (Japan)', Dr Golnaraghi said.

'So what it means is that depending on the concentration of the particles and depending on which level of the atmosphere they are issued, they could be taking a very different trajectory,' she added.

Explosions at Fukushima No.1 plant, about 270km north-east of Tokyo, have sent out low levels of radiation.

Officials in Ibaraki, a neighbouring prefecture just south of Fukushima, said that up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation were detected yesterday.

Tokyo also reported slightly elevated radiation levels, but officials said the increase was too small to threaten the 39 million people in and around the capital. Still, Austria said it was moving its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka, 400km away, due to radiation concerns.

China became the first government to organise a mass evacuation of its citizens from Japan's north-east yesterday. The Chinese embassy in Tokyo said it was preparing to send buses to remove its nationals from Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate prefectures, the hardest-hit areas.

The number of Chinese affected is unclear, but the Commerce Ministry in Beijing said it had contacted 22,155 Chinese nationals in the quake-hit areas, while another 261 cannot be reached. Many Chinese work in factories in Japan, and the area around Fukushima is home to many small manufacturers.

China Southern Airlines said it will use larger, 272-seat aircraft on the route between Tokyo and the Chinese city of Shenyang to handle the evacuees.

Threat of winds possibly spreading radiation has put the region on alert.

Russia has been closely monitoring the radiation level since Friday.

Mr Sergei Kiriyenko, chief executive of Russian federal atomic energy agency Rosatom, said that the Far East region was not threatened by the nuclear accident in Japan - even in the worst-case scenario.

'Although the worst scenario of radiation coincides with the worst wind situation, no threat exists in Russia's Far East,' he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS

Malaysia: Readings show our radiation levels are normal, says ministry
Wong Pek Mei The Star 16 Mar 11;

PETALING JAYA: The environmental radiology monitoring system at six locations in the country shows that radiation levels are normal, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.

“We are monitoring it hour by hour and everything seems to be normal,” he said.

The system is located in Chuping, Ipoh, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kudat and Senai.

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan had impacted the nuclear station in Fukushima Daiichi that has six units of nuclear reactors.

An explosion occurred at reactor 2 at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan yesterday. It was the third reactor to explode since Saturday.

Dr Ongkili also advised Malaysians not to believe speculation that radiation from a nuclear plant in Japan would reach the Philippines and other Asian countries.

“It is unfounded, based on the latest information obtained from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he said.

Since yesterday, public concerns have been circulating through text messages and the Internet that radiation leaks from the nuclear plant would spread to Asian countries.

He said that radiation portal monitoring systems had been available at international entry points at the KL International Airport, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching airports since 2009 to detect if any passenger or baggage are contaminated with radioactive material.

Technical information on the catastrophe in Japan can also be accessed via the IAEA website at www.iaea.org, NISA website at www.nisa.meti.go.jp and at the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licencing Board (AELB) radiology information centre hotline at 1800-88-7999.

Meanwhile, radiological health and safety expert Prof Dr Ahmad Termizi Ramli said Malaysians should not worry despite the third explosion at the Japanese nuclear plant.

Expert: Winds heading toward west coast of US
Straits Times 16 Mar 11;

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysians need not worry about radiation particles heading here from Japan as prevailing winds are now drifting toward the west coast of the United States.

A spokesman from the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) said it obtained the information from the Japan Meteorological Agency.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also informed us that the situation remained under control in Japan, despite the fire at the Unit 4 reactor and explosion at the Unit 2 reactor of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant,” he said.

The spokesman added that the dose rate of up to 400 millisievert per hour detected at the site was reported to be dropping, according to IAEA.

The Health Ministry has moved quickly to quell rumours that radioactive winds were heading toward Malaysia.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai told reporters at Parliament lobby yesterday that the Malaysian Nuclear Agency was monitoring the situation.

“As for now, the radiation is contained to just a certain region in Japan. It is highly unlikely that it will reach Malaysia,” he said.

“I hope the public will not believe the rumours that are circulating through SMS.”

Fukushima is about 5,600km north-east of Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia: 'Leak won't affect us here'
Rozanna Latiff and Darshini Balan New Straits Times 16 Mar 11;

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite reports of radioactive leak at Japan's troubled plants, experts said adverse effects were unlikely to be felt here even in the case of a meltdown.

Malaysia Nuclear Agency deputy director-general Dr Muhd Noor Muhd Yunus said an emergency would only arise if a meltdown occurred in the core reactors, releasing dangerous levels of radiation into the air.

"This is the worst-case scenario. However, the likelihood of that happening is low as the power plant has already shut down the core reactors and has taken steps to reduce further damage.

"This is very different from the Chernobyl incident (in 1986) where there was no containment structure and the reactor was still active," Dr Noor said yesterday.

He said even if a leak occurred, it was unlikely for radioactive dust to travel to Malaysia before it dissipates as current weather conditions showed that the winds were travelling in the opposite direction.

"Given the distance and current wind directions, there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

He said radiation levels in Malaysia had so far remained normal despite reports of radioactive material being released at the Fukushima plant, where cooling systems were damaged when an 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan last week.

"The authorities here are continuing to keep track of radiation levels in the air, rainwater and soil at their monitoring stations and will alert the public if the situation worsens."

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia nuclear physicist and radiological health and safety expert Prof Ahmad Termizi Ramli said even in the event of a nuclear meltdown, the effects on Malaysia were expected to be minimal due to the distance involved.

"Radiation dust can travel here via wind but with Malaysia being more than 5,000km away, any radioactive material would be diluted by the time it arrives.

"Trace amounts may be found but the effects would be so small as to make them indistinguishable from the effects created by the background radiation already present in our environment."

He said it was important to take news reports on increased radiation levels with the right perspective.

"Yes, radiation levels in the air have multiplied at the plant itself but the situation is localised and would not spread beyond short distances.

"The Japanese have only asked citizens within a 30km to evacuate the area. What more us Malaysians, who are 5,000km away?

"There will be some effect to our environment, but not to the extent of being a cause for concern."

He said it was impossible for "acid rain" to be formed as a result of a leak as nuclear power plants did not produce gaseous chemicals such as sulphur dioxide or nitrogen.

"Acid rain has got nothing to do with nuclear power plants which produce radioactive materials and not chemical pollutants such as sulphur."

He also said the chances of a full-scale nuclear meltdown occurring at the Fukushima plant was low due to the contingency measures in place.

"The Japanese had gone through the effects of two atomic bombs -- they take radiation exposure and containment very, very seriously and are well-prepared for any emergency.

"In fact, the only people who are in danger of high levels of radiation exposure are those working at the plant itself and those in the immediate vicinity. Even the general Japanese population are mostly safe."

Meanwhile, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the Malaysia Nuclear Agency assured that there was no rise in the level of radiation in the country.

The Science and Technology Ministry, in a press statement yesterday, said the monitoring was done at six locations nationwide at Chuping, Ipoh, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kudat, and Senai using the Electronic Records Management System.

'Contingency plan if country is put at nuclear fallout risk'
Maizatul Ranai New Straits Times 16 Mar 11;

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has a contingency plan should there be a nuclear meltdown in quake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said the plan, which was based on International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines, would be implemented if the country was put at risk.

"The plan will prepare us for any unwanted incidents should the situation get worse," he said after launching the Asean Youth Forum on Innovation and Creativity at the National Science Centre yesterday.

However, he declined to state what this contingency plan would entail.

Asked what efforts were under way to ensure the safety of Malaysians, he said the ministry had been assisting the National Security Council in monitoring the nuclear incidents in Japan.

He said the ministry's agencies -- the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and Nuclear Malaysia -- were also keeping a close watch on the situation by retrieving information and data from IAEA and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa).

"The agencies regularly update us on the happenings and latest developments in the country to ensure Malaysians here are safe."

Ongkili said to date, the environmental radiology monitoring system at six locations throughout Malaysia -- in Chuping, Ipoh, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kudat and Senai -- did not show any significant rise in radiation levels here.

"The system shows that the current level is normal and people need not fear risk of radiation."

Experts Say Country Safe From ‘Radioactive Rain’
Ismira Lutfia Jakarta Globe 15 Mar 11;

Indonesian scientists gave assurances on Monday that there was no need for people here to worry about radiation leaking from a nuclear power plant in Japan.

Djarot Wisnubroto, deputy for nuclear technology development at the National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan), said Japan was simply too far away for possible radioactive dust to have an impact on Indonesia.

While the radiation resulting from a system failure at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 240 kilometers north of Tokyo, might adversely affect those in close proximity to the reactor, he said those in areas further away were not in any danger.

“It is too insignificant to affect Indonesia, which lies thousands of kilometers away from Japan,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Monday that Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency had informed it of a hydrogen explosion that occurred at about 1 a.m. on Monday at the Unit 3 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi.

All personnel at the site have been accounted for, although six injuries were reported.

The UN nuclear monitoring agency also said the reactor building had suffered damage in the explosion but the primary containment vessel had not been damaged. Unit 3’s control room remained operational.

The explosion was the second to occur after a blast at the plant’s Unit 1 reactor on Saturday. That reactor’s cooling system, which should have operated automatically after it was shut down following Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, failed to function after the plant was struck by the quake-triggered tsunami.

In Indonesia, people have reported receiving a text message warning them about rain that may be carrying radioactive particles from the explosion at the Fukushima plant.

Natio Lasman, chairman of Indonesia’s Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), said the fact that Japan had not declared areas outside Fukushima as at risk indicated that there was no danger for people not in the immediate vicinity of the plant.

“They have doubled the emergency measures by evacuating residents from a 20-kilometer radius around the plant,” he said, but have not extended the evacuation zone beyond that.

The direction of the wind is also blowing possible radioactive dust in the opposite direction of Indonesia, he added.

Kukuh Ribudiyanto, from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), however, said the wind could still change direction and blow south.

Where the winds blow: Experts ponder fallout risks
Anthony Lucas Yahoo News 15 Mar 11;

PARIS (AFP) – Experts monitoring weather patterns for any fallout from Japan's stricken nuclear plant said Tuesday the winds had so far been favourable but they were less confident about the outlook later this week.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said winds on Saturday and Monday -- when two blasts occurred at Fukushima -- were blowing to the northeast and east, in other words out over the Pacific.

"All the meteorological conditions are offshore, there are no implications inshore for Japan or other countries near Japan," said Maryam Golnaraghi, who heads the WMO's disaster risk reduction programme.

But on Tuesday, the winds temporarily shifted, coming instead from the northeast, the Geneva-based WMO said, quoting the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

For Wednesday, "the forecast is for northerly winds and later westerly, (for winds that are) near-surface and at 1,000 metres (3,250 feet)," it said. Thereafter, conditions "will fluctuate as weather systems develop and progress."

In Tokyo, 250 kilometres (155 miles) southwest of Fukushima, the authorities said higher-than-normal radiation levels had been detected in the capital on Tuesday but not at harmful levels.

The WMO activated a so-called environmental emergency response mechanism on Saturday, with three regional centres in Beijing, Tokyo and Obninsk, Russia, monitoring weather patterns.

The benchmark for fallout from a nuclear disaster is the April 26, 1986, explosion at Chernobyl, which spewed radioactive dust across parts of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and even reached as far as Ireland, more than 1,600 kilometres away.

In the Russian Far East, the meteorological service at Vladivostok, less than 1,000 kilometres west of Fukushima, said radiation levels were within normal limits.

The service's spokeswoman, Varvara Koridze, said that air samples "contained the usual background components. Radionuclides that would have been the result of an explosion were not found."

Boris Lamash, head of the climate department at Far Eastern Federal University, said prevailing winds at this time of year in the region were westerlies and northwesterlies, which helped push harmful material away.

In the United States, meteorologist Jeff Masters used a modelling program from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine where radioactivity would spread.

"The great majority of these runs have taken plumes of radioactivity emitted from Japan's east coast eastwards over the Pacific, with the plumes staying over water for at least five days," he said.

"It is highly unlikely that any radiation capable of causing harm to people will be left in the atmosphere after seven days and 2,000 miles-plus of travel," said Masters, founder of the Weather Underground online weather forecasting service.

Cyril Honore, deputy head of forecasting at the French state weather service, Meteo France, was cautious.

"Japan lies in temperate latitudes, so winds are generally west-to-east, but this prevailing direction does not rule out the possibility of very strong variations," he told AFP.

He also noted that contaminated dust from Fukushima could disperse in wide patterns.

"A cloud, or air mass, is not an enclosed bloc. It is exposed to horizontal and vertical turbulence, so matter is dispersed or diluted according to atmospheric directions," Honore said.