No cause for alarm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government Tuesday said there is no need to panic over the nuclear reactor blasts in Japan following the 9.0-magnitude temblor last Friday, saying that chances of the adverse effects of radioactivity are very slim in the country.

The assurance was made on the day Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation that has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was enough to “impact human health” and the risk of more leaks was “very high.” The plant was initially damaged during Friday's earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

Kan urged anyone within 30 kilometers of the plant to stay indoors or risk getting radiation sickness.

Japanese officials said Tuesday they have detected slightly higher-than-normal radiation levels in Tokyo but insisted there are no health dangers.

Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Director Dr. Alumanda dela Rosa, in a press briefing in Malacañang Tuesday said the level of accident, although at Level 4 under the international event
scale, means that the accident has no significant impact offsite or outside of the plant.

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo added that the possibility of a worst case scenario is “very, very remote.” He added that even the highest level, at Level 7, would have “minimal effect” on the country.

“Ang dating sa Philippines (When it comes to the Philippines) if at all, [it] would still be minimal in essence because we’re too far. It will dissipate and the radiation will have little effect here,” he said.

Radiation watch

Despite the assurance, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) stepped up its radiation watch.

DoST Spokesman Raymund Liboro said the DoST has furter intensified its monitoring of radiation within the Philippine area of responsibility as part of its proactive measures of keeping public safety.

By increasing the frequency of getting the result of their monitoring, he said, they have boosted the country’s capability of sensing any increase in the amount of radiation in the air.

“Initially, we get results once a day. That was before the incident (of radiation release) in Japan. During the weekend, we had results twice a day. Yesterday, we checked (the air for radiation) four times. Starting today, we will be monitoring five times a day,” he said.

Dela Rosa said that even before the nuclear blasts in Japan happened, the Philippines already has a National Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (RADPLAN) in place since 2000, adding that the country’s alert level is currently on Alert Level 0.

The PNRI chief assured that the country has state-of-the-art equipment to monitor any radioactivity.

The PNRI monitors any radioactivity contamination on marine life, air, and agriculture, among others.

Montejo said the worst effect of the nuclear bomb blasts may be the measurement of radioactive components in imported products from Japan. However, it is not yet needed as of the moment.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona added that the country knows where to get iodine pills if necessary.

“But we’re not going to order it yet,” Ona said, adding that there is no need to screen travelers coming to the country from Japan.

Montejo said they will ask schools that suspended their classes Monday to explain their action to the text scare.

Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) was among those that suspended classes because of the hoax text message on the alleged effect of the nuclear blasts.

Montejo said there is no basis for them to suspend classes because classes in Japan had not been suspended.

“How can we make a decision to stop classes when we’re five hours away (by plane) from Japan and when they themselves are conducting their classes. I don’t understand what’s their basis,” Montejo said, noting that except for calamity areas, the Japanese are living their normal lives.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to track down and arrest the source of hoax text messages on nuclear radiation supposedly to hit the country.

Nuclear blasts at the power plants in Fukushima Prefecture caused an alarm that it might affect the country.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant Unit 1 was in use since July, 1967 and was scheduled for shutdown this month. It is one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations in the world.

Dela Rosa said the blast was in the outermost part of the reactor and did not come from the pressure vessel itself where there are radioactive products produced during the fission process. She said there are barriers before the radioactive material comes out of the reactor vessel.

Ona advised the public to be “cognizant,” saying that it is important to be aware and be updated of any related information.

China monitors

In a sign of mounting fears about the risk of radiation after two explosions Tuesday, neighboring China said it was strengthening monitoring and Air China said it had canceled flights to Tokyo.

Several embassies advised staff and citizens to leave affected areas. Tourists cut short vacations and multinational companies either urged staff to leave or said they were considering plans to move outside the city.

“There has been a fire at the No. 4 reactor and radiation levels in the surrounding area have heightened significantly. The possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening," a grim-faced Kan said in an address to the nation.

“We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly.”

As concerns rose over the nuclear accident, Japanese media became more critical of Kan's handling of the disaster and criticized the government and plant operator TEPCO for their failure to provide enough information on the incident.

The French Embassy in Tokyo warned in an 0100 GMT advisory that a low level of radioactive wind could reach the capital – 240 km (150 miles) south of the plant – in about 10 hours.

Winds over the facility were blowing slowly in a southwesterly direction that includes Tokyo but will shift westerly later on Tuesday, a weather official said.

Kyodo news agency said radiation levels nine times normal levels had been briefly detected in Kanagawa near Tokyo, but it quotes the metropolitan government that only “minute levels” were found in the capital itself.

“Very acute radiation, like that which happened in Chernobyl and to the Japanese workers at the nuclear power station, is unlikely for the population,” said Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong.

But the blasts could expose the population to longer-term exposure to radiation, which can raise the risk of thyroid and bone cancers and leukemia. Children in fetuses are especially vulnerable.

There have been a total of four explosions at the plant since it was damaged in last Friday's massive quake and tsunami. The most recent were blasts at reactors No. 2 and No. 4.

Mixed signals

It seems that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine embassy in Tokyo does not see eye-to-eye concerning voluntary repatriation of embassy staff in quake-ravaged Japan.

Just hours after Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez declared that voluntary repatriation are now being offered to the staff of the Philippine Embassy, the DFA countered by saying it has yet to decide whether to allow employees and even their dependents to come home.

Oil prices, stocks tumble

With Prime Minister Kan declaring that radiation has spread from the four reactors following the fourth explosion in the nuclear plant, oil prices slid below $99 a barrel yesterday in Asia as traders fled risky investments.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down $2.46 at $98.73 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 3 cents Monday to settle at $101.19 on Monday.

In London, Brent crude was down $2.34 at $111.33 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday radiation that has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was enough to “impact human health” and the risk of more leaks was “very high.” The plant was initially damaged during Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

Kan urged anyone within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the plant to stay indoors or risk getting radiation sickness.

Officials said Tuesday they have detected slightly higher-than-normal radiation levels in Tokyo but insisted there are no health dangers.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged as much as 14 percent Tuesday after a 6 percent drop Monday.

“We're seeing a knee-jerk reaction due to this fresh explosion,” said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. “It's uncertain how much radiation is coming out or could affect Tokyo and that's caused this across-the-board market reaction.”

In other Nymex trading for April contracts, heating oil was down 1.2 cents at $3.02 a gallon and gasoline dropped 2.3 cents to $2.96 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3.0 cents at $3.92 per 1,000 cubic feet.

$61.2 B infused

Japan's central bank pumped another $61.2 billion into the financial system Tuesday to quell fears that the country's banks could be overwhelmed by the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami.

The injection of 5 trillion yen comes a day after the Bank of Japan fed a record $85.5 B into money markets and eased monetary policy to support the economy.

source: manila bulletin