Elevated level of radioactive idone found in tapwater in Kanto Area

Updated March 24rd 18:08

Restriction on use of tap water for infants has been lifted, as the level of radiao active iodine at the drinking water treatment plant has dropped from 210 Bq/kg to 79 Bq/kg. Temporary health standards of radioactive iodine set by Japanese Government is 100 Bq/kg for infants under 12 months and 300 Bq/kg for adults.

The most updated information on tap water in Tokyo can be found here
http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/emergency/monitoring.tokyo-eiken.go.jp/monitoring/w-past_data.html



Elevated level of radio active idonine has been ditected in Kanto area on March 22nd.
Residents of following area are adviced not to give tap water to infants, especially babies less than 12 months old. Tap water should not be used to prepare milk nor baby food.
These municipalities are distributing bottled water for the families with infants for immidiate use.

Tokyo Metropolis
23 Special Wards(２３区)
Musashino City(武蔵野市)
Mitaka City(三鷹市)
Machida City (町田市)
Tama City (多摩市)
Inagi City (稲城市)

Ibaraki Prefecture
Hitachi-Ota City (常陸大田市）


The level of radioactive idone is low enough for other usage including drinking, cooking, and bathing. It is a precautionary action and does not impose immidiate health risk.

You can find the radiation level in air, tap water, and rain at this website
http://atmc.jp/.

This website provide information about radiation risk in Japan in 日本語 | 英語English | 中文 | ベトナム語Tiếng Việt | 韓国語한국어 | ベンガル語 | ロシア語Русский | ペルシア語Fārsī | ドイツ語Deutsch | イタリア語Italiano | ルーマニア語Limba română | フランス語Français | ポルトガル語Português | スペイン語Español | タイ語ภาษาไทย | タガログ語Tagalog | インドネシア語Bahasa Indonesia
http://www.tufs.ac.jp/blog/ts/g/cemmer/index.html

I will be making an update on this.

source:http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/INET/OSHIRASE/2011/03/20l3nf00.htm

Travel restriction to Japan

Updated March 21st 20:05

Currently, World Health Organizaiton are NOT advising travel restriction to Japan.

Following information are gathered by Hikaru Kitamura
Organizer of Japan earthquake 東北地方太平洋沖地震 (http://www.facebook.com/?sk=group_116365381773884)


WHO Spokesperson Gregory Hartl commented on Japan's situation regarding radiation, "There is little public danger." It is very unlikely that food sold & exported are affe...cted by the radiation of the Fukushima Power Plant I, countries checking radiation levels of food imported from Japan as well as ordering their people to leave Japan are overreacting. [This means people being checked is also unnecessary.]

UNifeed: GENEVA / JAPAN HEALTH UPDATE [video available]
http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/d/17231.html
Quotation from another WHO webpage:

"17 March 2011 -- WHO is cautioning people concerned about the radiation issues in Japan against self-medicating with potassium iodide or taking products containing iodine. The advice follows reports of people using these substances in response to radiation leaks from nuclear plants in Japan. Potassium iodide should only be taken when there is a clear public health recommendation to do so."

WHO | Japan earthquake and tsunami
http://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/en/index.html
WHO has also made a Japanese FAQ to provide proper knowledge about radiation.

WKC | WHO Centre for Health Development
http://www.who.or.jp/indexj.html
＊＊＊

From NHK (around 22:00, March 20): The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Amano was concerned that rumors were spreading out in the world, various countries worrying that radiation in Japan will affect them. He mentioned that ...the information provided is not enough, that Japan should collaborate with the IAEA and report point by point, several countries (organizations) working on together will be better. IAEA will monitor radiation levels in Tokyo and other areas in the Kanto region, separately from Japanese institutions.

Details of Amano's visit to Japan are available on the IAEA website.

Japanese Prime Minister Assures Director General of Increased Information Exchange
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/japan-visit.htmlLatest report of the current situation of the Fukushima nuclear power plants by the IAEA has been published online at March 19 2011, 21:00 JST (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9).

IAEA Update on Japan Earthquake
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

For People in Kanagawa

Yokohama

Yokohama Official Website in English
http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/en/
- Info on earthquake, blackout, radiation in Yokohama

Yokohama City Earthquake Information Center
http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/keiei/kokusai/infoquake110312a2.html

For People in Aomori

Disaster Prevention Homepage of Aomori Prefecture Website
http://www.bousai.pref.aomori.jp/gaikokuzin/E/index_E.html

For People in Iwate

Official Disaster Information
http://iwate-ia.or.jp/
- Twitter in English
- Looking for person & Safety confirmation info (In Japanese)

National Institute of Radiological Science

National Institute of Radiological Science
Official Site
http://www.nirs.go.jp/index.shtml
- The site itself is in Japanese, but has information in English and Chinese. Click the links says English PDF.

- Here are the direct link to some of the informations in English
Basic Facts
http://www.nirs.go.jp/data/pdf/i3_e.pdf
Basic Fact 2
http://www.nirs.go.jp/data/pdf/i4_e.pdf
General information on decontamination methods (To those who cannot use water)
http://www.nirs.go.jp/data/pdf/jyosen_e_2.pdf
General information on decontamination methods (To those who use water)
http://www.nirs.go.jp/data/pdf/jyosen_e_1.pdf
Don't take commercially available products containing iodine
http://www.nirs.go.jp/data/pdf/english.pdf

Reliable & Scientific Explanations of Earthquake and Nuclear Plant

So, one of the many challenges you will face/are facing in this earthquake is to find the correct information. Twitter and blogs help immediate access to emergency informationm, but at the same time there are a lot of false rumor and out-of-fate information. The most reliable govermental official sites offer information in Japanese, but not so much in English.

So, I asked the professors in my univeristy where I can find reliable information. Here are some he suggested and I found. Many of them include scienticfic explanations. You may not like reading scientific articles, but they are very easy to understand using a lot of pictures. Read thorough them in order to understand what is actually going on, and to be able to tell truth from false rumors.

Nuclear Plant
Exposed rods spark meltdown fear
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12737508
Japan nuclear alert at Fukushima - Q&A
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12732015
Radiation falls at Japanese plant
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12722435
In graphics: Fukushima nuclear alert
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12726591
Japan's nuclear crisis: The story so far
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20249-japans-nuclear-crisis-the-story-so-far.html
Fukushima latest: Radiation around plant falls
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/japan-megaquake-update.html
Estimates of total radioactive cesium and iodine emissions from Fukushima plant
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2011/03/first_estimates_of_radioactive.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2FySfs+%28The+Great+Beyond%29

Earthquake
Quake was big even for Japan
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12710999
How Shifting Plates Caused the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/11/world/asia/maps-of-earthquake-and-tsunami-damage-in-japan.html
Was Friday's quake Tokyo's expected 'big one'?
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/was-fridays-quake-tokyos-expec.html

Tsunami
UW-Madison professor discusses earthquake, tsunami
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/international/uw-madison-professor-harold-tobin-discusses-japan-earthquake