'Radiation threat real' from Japan

MANILA, Philippines -  The threat of radiation from Japan reaching Philippine shores is real and should not be ignored, a professor and toxicology expert told the Senate yesterday.

During a public hearing of the Senate committee on health and demography on the effects of possible radiation exposure from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, University of the Philippines professor Dr. Romeo Quijano cited two studies from the French nuclear institute and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, both of which showed that radioactive fallout would reach the Philippines and the rest of the world sooner or later.

He said the nuclear radiation could enter the country through wind or water, so it is very important for all the concerned government agencies to improve all existing monitoring systems.

Philippine National Research Institute (PNRI) director Dr. Alumanda de la Rosa said that they have a radionuclide monitoring station in Tanay, Rizal and that monitoring is done everyday.

Food imported from Japan is also constantly monitored using portal monitors installed at the Port of Manila and by testing the samples of the products submitted by the regulatory agencies.

Quijano said testing the air is not enough if the intention is to see the whole radiation fallout picture.

He said better information would be derived through soil deposition because the radionuclide accumulation in the soil would be a useful measure of radiation.

Quijano also noted that testing of food products should not be limited to Japan but also other countries where contamination may have already occurred.

He said there is no such thing as a safe dosage of radiation exposure and that the standards set by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) were not based on science.