Early this week, Tokyo Electric Power Company began dumping into the Pacific Ocean radioactive contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The plant was damaged as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami. The water being released is 100 times the legal limit of permissible radiation content. Officials sayd t dumping will make room for water that is about 10-thousand times the legal limit.
The move is designed to help workers clear radioactive water from the turbine buildings, making it less dangerous to reach the most crucial controls of the cooling systems. Once reached, the hope is the cooling systems can be revived and bring the plant back under control.
Meanwhile, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says west coast inspectors are screening shipments of milk, milk products and fresh vegetables and fruits produced or manufactured in the area of Japan directly affected by radiation leaking from the damaged nuclear generation plant. U.S. dairy industry officials are also keeping close eyes on the situation. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta says – so far there is no cause for alarm. |