Public concern grows over radiation risks

By Park Si-soo

A series of explosions at earthquake-damaged nuclear reactors in Japan have unnerved people here, increasing public concern over radiation risks on the Korean Peninsula.

No unusual change in radiation levels in the air has been detected, as government officials and experts say Korea will not be exposed to any serious risks thanks to the wind direction blowing toward the Pacific Ocean.

“The explosion and ensuing radiation leak in Japan have had no negative impact on our country,” said Kim Chang-kyung, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, at a media briefing, Tuesday.

Kim, however, said the government will strengthen monitoring efforts.

For the sake of public health, the government will install radiation detectors at Incheon International Airport, Kim said.

He also said the government has enhanced its readiness for any health risks stemming from the explosions in Japan by increasing the frequency of radiation monitoring to every five minutes from 15 minutes and putting emergency medical teams on alert.

Despite the government’s denial of any radiation risks, rumors were circulating on the Internet that radiation contamination would spread to the Korean Peninsula due to a reversal in wind direction.

But the rumor soon turned out to be groundless.

“Radiation leaked from broken nuclear reactors is unlikely to affect our country as winds are blowing toward the Pacific,” said Kim Seung-bae, a spokesman for the Korea Meteorological Administration.

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) also confirmed there was no radiation threat to the country.

It has been monitoring radiation levels around the clock at 70 checkpoints across the country. Of them, 12 are located along the east coast, the closest part of the country to Japan.

The radiation level measured on Ullung Island, one of the closest islands to Japan, increased “slightly” Tuesday morning.

“It is within normal levels. This doesn’t warrant any serious worries,” a KINS spokesman said.

The government ordered Korean nationals residing around the four quake-ravaged reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex to leave the town Tuesday and stay in remote shelters.

Up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation were measured in Fukushima, Kyodo News agency reported. The Japanese government warned residents nearby to stay indoors to avoid exposure. Some 70,000 people have already been evacuated from a 20-kilometer radius of the Dai-ichi complex.

Tokyo also reported slightly elevated radiation levels, but officials there said the increase was too small to threaten the 39 million people in and around the capital, about 270 kilometers away from the power plant.

교과부, '우리나라 방사능 영향 없다'

일본 대지진과 원전 폭발이 국내에 미치는 영향에 대한 관심이 높아지고 각종 루머까지 나돌자 교육과학기술부가 브리핑에 나섰다. 결론은 "국내 안전에 미치는 영향은 없을 것"이란 내용이다.

교육과학기술부는 15일 오후 브리핑을 갖고 "일본 대지진에 의한 국내 원전에 미치는 영향은 없다"고 밝혔다.

김창경 교과부 차관은 "현재까지 이상 징후가 발견되지 않아 국내 영향은 없는 것으로 판단된다"며 "국내 원전은 지질과 지진조사를 통해 원자로에 영향을 미칠수 있는 최대 지진을 고려하고 이에 여유도를 더해 설계지진(0.2g)을 결정했다"고 설명했다.

김 차관은 또 쓰나미에 대한 안정성을 확보하기 위해 최대 크기의 쓰나미를 고려해 부지를 설계했기 때문에 안전하다고 설명했다.

김 차관은 "고리 1,2호를 제외한 나머지 부지는 설계파고보다 훨씬 높은 10m 내외의 고도에 원전을 건설해 쓰나미가 와도 문제가 없도록 했다"고 말했다.

윤철호 한국원자력안전기술원 원장은 최근 일본 원전사고에 따른 국내 영향에 대한 루머가 퍼지고 있는 것에 대해 "최악의 경우에도 국민의 안전에 아무 문제가 없다"고 강조했다.

이에 앞서 기상청도 다음 아고라 등에 "일본과 우리나라가 1000km 이상 떨어진 점을 감안할때 지표면 가까운 곳에서 부는 지상풍을 통해 방사능 물질이 우리나라까지 영향을 주기는 불가능하다"며 "영향을 주려면 상층부로 올라가 상층풍을 타고 와야 하는데 편서풍 때문에 어렵다"고 설명했다.

한편 교과부는 전국 70개 자동 방사능 감시망을 통해 5분마다 방사선 준위를 감시하고 있으며, 15일 일시적으로 소폭 상승한 것은 비가 온 것에 따른 것으로 정상적인 수치라고 밝혔다.