Radiation in Tokyo tap water arouses concerns

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tap water in downtown Tokyo measured 210 becquerels per liter of iodine-131 — more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per liter for infants, officials from the Tokyo Water Bureau said Wednesday, March 23.

Infants are extremely vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which can cause thyroid cancer, experts say. However, officials urged calm, saying drinking small amounts of tap water was fine for babies, and that the current level did not pose an immediate health risk to children or adults.

"We advise against using the tap water for drinking and for making infant formula for babies under 1 year old," said Shintaro Ishihara, Tokyo's governor.

The unsettling new development affecting Japan's largest city, home to some 13 million in the city center and 39 million residents in the great Tokyo area, came as nuclear officials struggled to stabilize all six reactor units at the damaged power plant to the northeast.

In a new setback, black smoke billowed from Unit 3, prompting a new evacuation of the complex Wednesday afternoon, Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials said. "We don't know the reason" for the smoke, Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear Safety Agency said, The Associated Press reported.

Radiation has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and even seawater in areas surrounding the plant since a magnitude-9 quake and killer tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant nearly two weeks ago. Broccoli was added to a list of tainted vegetables Wednesday, and U.S. officials announced a block on Japanese dairy and other produce from the region.