Tokyo Issues Tap Water Warning for Infants
By DAVID JOLLY and KEVIN DREW
TOKYO — Radioactive iodine detected in the capital’s water supply spurred a warning for infants on Wednesday as the government issued a stark new estimate about the costs of rebuilding from the earthquake and tsunami that slammed into the northeast of the country this month.
Ei Yoshida, head of water purification for the Tokyo water department, said at a televised news conference that infants in Tokyo and surrounding areas should not drink tap water. He said iodine-131 had been detected in water samples at a level of 210 becquerels per liter, about a quart. The recommended limit for infants is 100 becquerels per liter. For adults, the recommended limit is 300 becquerels.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that it was unlikely that there would be negative consequences to infants who did drink the water, but said it should be avoided if possible and that it should not be used to make infant formula.
“It’s unfortunate, but the radiation is clearly being carried on the air from the Fukushima plant,” said Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary. “Because it’s raining, it’s possible that a lot of places will be affected. Even if people consume the water a few times, there should be no long-term ill effects.”
Mr. Edano said the government and Tokyo authorities were discussing measures to assist families with children.
The warning applied to the 23 wards of Tokyo, as well as the towns of Mitaka, Tama, Musashino, Machida and Inagi to the west of the city.
The announcement about the water added to the growing anxiety about public safety posed by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station which was severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the public should avoid additional farm produce from areas near the power station because of contamination, according to Japanese media.
The government found radioactive materials at levels exceeding legal limits in 11 vegetables in Fukushima Prefecture, the Kyodo news agency reported. Shipments of the affected vegetables from Fukushima Prefecture ended on Monday.
On Wednesday, Mr. Kan also suspended shipment of raw milk and parsley from neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture, Kyodo reported.
The United States Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it would prohibit imports of dairy goods and produce from the affected region.
The spread of a small amount of radiation is inevitable, considering the steam that is generated as emergency workers spray water on damaged reactors and cooling pools at the Fukushima complex. Government and company officials were nonetheless expressing increasing optimism that the crisis was closer to being brought under control.
Of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi facility, only two, the No. 5 and No. 6 units, are currently considered to be under control. All of the facilities have electrical power, a crucial step toward getting cooling systems restarted.
Officials said earlier Wednesday that they hoped to have the cooling pumps at the No. 3 and No. 4 units operating by as early as Thursday. They had been planning to test Reactor No. 3’s cooling system, considered one of the most dangerous because of the fuel in the reactor, later Wednesday. Reactor No. 3 uses as fuel mixed oxides, or mox, which contains a mixture of uranium and plutonium, and can produce a more dangerous radioactive plume if scattered by fire or explosions.
But that effort was set back when the No. 3 facility began belching black smoke late in the afternoon, leading the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, to evacuate workers from the area. No flames were visible and the cause of the smoke was unknown, the company said.
Water also was sprayed on the No. 1 and No. 2 units on Wednesday.
Rebuilding after the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami, which ravaged the northeastern coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, will cost up to $309 billion, Mr. Kan’s office said on Wednesday.
The economic cost of the disaster has hit the power company, also called Tepco, which is in negotiations with its bankers for loans of as much as about $24 billion, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified.
Japan’s three megabanks — Sumitomo Mitsui, Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho — and a number of second-tier banks were discussing the company’s needs, according to the source. There has been no talk of government guarantees for any such loans, said the source, who was not authorized to discuss the issue.
Additional loans will raise new questions about Tepco’s long-term financial health. The disaster led Moody’s Japan to cut Tepco’s debt rating to A1 from Aa2 and warn that further downgrades were possible. The Fukushima Daiichi station, which was only a few weeks ago listed on the balance sheet as an asset worth billions of dollars, may have to be largely written off.
“Our concern right now is not about whether we’ll be paid back,” the source said. “The important thing is to support the company.”
The broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday that the official death toll from the disaster was raised to more than 9,400, with more than 14,700 people missing, although officials said there could be overlap between the two figures.
Meanwhile, strong earthquakes hit the northeast coast of Japan on Wednesday. A 6.0-magnitude quake shook Fukushima Prefecture in the morning, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency. That was followed by a 5.8-magnitude tremor about 20 minutes later.
Scientists have warned of aftershocks from the March 11 quake continuing for weeks, possibly months. The meteorological agency said the frequency of the aftershocks was declining but warns of the possibility that tremors of magnitude 7.0 or higher could occur.
