Fears have quickly arose in South Korea over the possibility that the rainfall could contain particles of radiation spewed from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, about 250 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.
On Thursday, hundreds of elementary schools were closed due to fears of radioactive rain.
However, the South Korean government said Thursday the radioactive materials from Japan‘s tsunami-hit nuclear power plant have a slight chance of directly reaching South Korea via rain or any other form of contamination.
Lee Ho-yeong, social affairs bureau chief of the PMO said, “Westerlies are blowing in the upper part of the nation’s air current. For the lower part, the government believes it would be difficult for a suspended solid to move directly toward the Korean Peninsula by the force of the wind,” then added, “Today‘s rain is expected to cause no harm to the human body.”
However, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) detected the radioactive material in Jeju Island earlier Thursday.
According to the KINS’s announcement, Kim Seung-bai, spokesman for the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), also said the radioactive material detected in Jeju‘s rainwater did not come directly from the Fukushima plant.
In addition, the KINS was analyzing soil samples collected early this week from 12 places all over the country to see if they contain traces of radiation.
(아주경제 이수지 기자)
