No signs of radiation in drinking water: KINS

Home > National > Social Affairs

print dictionary print

No signs of radiation in drinking water: KINS

No radioactive contaminants have been detected in Korea’s tap water despite detecting over the past week minuscule traces of radionuclides in the atmosphere from Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, a state-run nuclear safety agency said yesterday.

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) said an analysis of 23 water purification plants across the country showed no detectable level of artificial radionuclides.

The plant, located 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo started experiencing serious problems on March 12, a day after it was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami. “No samples of purified water that had been treated showed signs of being contaminated with artificial radioactive material,” KINS president Yun Choul-ho told reporters.

Seoul first confirmed the existence of radionuclides such as iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137 on Tuesday, and radioactive silver-110m was reported on Saturday. All concentrations of radioactive material discovered so far have been determined to be so small that they pose no risks to human health or the ecosystem.

Yun said results of ongoing tests on seawater and marine life around the Korean Peninsula will be made public early next week.


Yonhap
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)