Govt assures country is ready to face problem
Government officials assured the public today that even if the radiation from the devastated Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant moves up to Chernobyl-like levels, the Philippines would still be relatively safe.
In a press conference in Malacañang, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Mario Montejo also stressed the Philippine Nuclear Research Institution (PNRI) will update the public every now and then if there is a change in the radiation levels in the air. A new bulletin will be issued at around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. today.
DOST-PNRI Director Alumanda dela Rosa explained that the meltdown in the plant is at alert level 4, which means that humans are not allowed at least 20 kilometers radius around the plant.
In the Philippines, this does not mean anything yet since alert levels remain at zero, she said. This is the same status as last Sunday when news broke out of the damage in the oldest nuclear plant in the Fukushima prefecture.
“Even in a worst-case scenario, there is little extent [impact] in the Philippines,” she added.
Montejo cited, for example, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986 in Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine). It is the only one in history classified as a level 7 event.
“What happened in Chernobyl, it reached the Netherlands. But the Philippines is far from Japan…By then, the [composition] would have already dissipated,” he stressed.
In case there is a plume, the Philippines is still protected from the direction of the wind.
It is moving east from Japan towards the Pacific Ocean, Montejo explained. The winds will move in this direction at least until May 15.
TV Patrol screengrab of current wind trajectory from Japan
PNRI has the capacity
“To reassure you, however, the Philippines has the capacity of measuring radiation [in the air],” dela Rosa stressed.
She explained that there are natural and man-made radiation levels present in the air right now, even in the food that we eat.
For example, man-made radiation contributes to about less than 0.06 millisievert per year. This comes from medical equipment and power plants, for example.
Sievert is the unit of dose of the biological effect of radiation.
There is no obvious effect of a 0 up to 250 millisievert of radiation absorbed by the body. When it reaches 250 to 1000 millisievert, the human will experience temporary nausea, a damage in blood cells, and sterility among men.
Death is already possible once the levels reach 1000-3000 millisievert. Above 3000, many are expected not to survive.
Dela Rosa explained that as of 7:30 p.m. on Monday, there was a 57 micro-sievert per hour detected in the air. Micro-sievert is 1000 less than a millisievert.
If Japan raises its alert level, “a similar move from the country will still depend on the level of radioactivity…we will have a dose assessment,” she added.
The country is ready
In the event that the Philippine will be affected, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will put into action the already existing National Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (Radplan), officials said.
"The RADPLAN establishes an organized emergency response capability for timely, coordinated action of Philippine authorities in a peacetime radiological incident or emergency. Participating agencies such as the PNRI and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) are given authority and responsibilities for coordinating activities of other agencies involved," the NDRRMC said in its website.
Montejo stressed there is not even an immediate need to test the products entering the country. In any case, the government would post on its website the products that would be prohibited.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona, for his part, said there is not even a need to stock up on iodine pills. These medicines are used to combat radiation at certain levels.
“I don’t think there is a necessity, but we know where to get it if necessary,” he said.
source: abs-cbn
No comments:
Post a Comment