By Kim Rahn

Concerns are growing over possible “radioactive rain,” as winds containing radioactive materials are forecast to blow toward the Korean Peninsula from Japan and rain is expected Thursday.

Weather officials are saying the radiation level will be too low to affect humans. But the announcement is not enough to relieve public concern completely.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) forecast the whole nation is likely to get 20-60 millimeters of rainfall Thursday, with southern parts of the country receiving rain until Friday. After the rain, yellow dust may drift over, it said.

It also expected winds containing radioactive substances are likely to blow toward the peninsula around Thursday.

“We forecast upper air currents may move from eastern parts of Japan to the south of Japan in a clockwise direction. Separately, a southwestern wind is expected from the East China Sea,” a KMA spokesman said. “But the two winds are unlikely to meet, so that it may not directly hit Korea.”

Despite the weather agency’s explanations, citizens worry about the possible exposure to radioactivity from the rain.

Kim Hye-jeong, 33-year-old mother of a four-year-old girl, said, “I’m thinking about not sending my daughter to the nursery school on Thursday. She may be exposed to rain while going there and coming back. They say it will be safe, but it would just be as a precaution.”

A tweeter also said, “Thursday’s rain may contain radioactive materials. I’m supposed to go on a business trip while my daughter, goes to an outdoor theme park on a field trip. I’m so worried.”

Making the concerns graver, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) detected minuscule traces of radioactive iodine in the air at all 12 checkpoints nationwide, Monday. Seven regions, including Seoul, Daejeon and Daegu, also found radioactive cesium in the air.

Radioactive iodine was also found in rainwater in seven regions, including Busan and Cheongju.

The institute said even if radioactive materials arrive in Korea due to the wind direction, the amount will be too small to have any negative effect on the human body. “Even if radioactive substances leaked from the Fukushima plants come directly to Korea, the amount will be about 0.3 milli-Sievert (mSv), one third of the annual radiation dose limit,” KINS President Yun Choul-ho said.

Citizens also express regret over the KMA and KINS, which had kept saying the peninsula would be free from radiation but admitted to a slight chance after overseas institutes announced the possibility.

A day earlier, it was spread on the Internet that a simulation by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research showed there was chance of radioactive materials hitting Korea. A German weather agency’s simulation also showed Monday that radiation would begin to affect Korea Wednesday.

“It’s a pity that the German and Norwegian agencies are more credible, rather than the Korean one, which is the closest to Japan,” a blogger said.

In the meantime the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday no radioactive materials have been detected in 58 samples of domestic agricultural and marine products, including spinach, lettuce, mackerel and squid.

It has also checked the radiation levels of 10 imported fish caught in the Pacific, and six of them had no radioactive materials while the examination on the remaining four is ongoing.