Radiation check on evacuees begins

By Lee Hyo-sik

The government began checking radiation levels of people arriving from Japan, Thursday, to ease growing public concern of health risks, following a series of explosions of nuclear reactors there.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said it installed two residual radiation detection gates each at Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport, in cooperation with the state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS).

“Whether to undergo the radiation check-up is entirely on a voluntarily basis because there is no legal ground to enforce it upon all the passengers flying in from Japan,” said Roh Jae-ik, manager of the ministry’s nuclear emergency management team. “We think however many individuals would like to know whether they were exposed to radiation while in Japan.”

He said the measure is also aimed to calm the public worry that they may be exposed to radiation when coming into contact with those already contaminated by radioactivity.

“If individuals are exposed to a large amount of radioactivity, they could pass it on to others. But if they are contaminated with a low level of radiation, which we think will be the majority of contamination cases, it is not contagious,” Roh stressed.

On Thursday, one Japanese man from Fukushima Prefecture was found to have been contaminated with radiation, inspectors at Incheon International Airport said. Radition was detected on his head, jacket and shoes, they said.

The radiation level read just 1 microsievert, which fell to normal levels after he took off his coat and shoes, they said.

Some Internet users are urging the government to do more as Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant continues to fall apart. Netizens are also criticizing a range of measures unveiled by the Ministry of Justice early this week, designed to make it easier for Japanese nationals to come and go.

The ministry said it will relax immigration rules on the Japanese until the world’s third largest economy fully recovers from the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor explosions.

Among others, those who previously stayed for over 90 days here and returned to Japan do not have to apply for a new visa when they return. Additionally, Japanese with an expired visa will be exempt from paying fines or administrative penalties when they leave Korea.

More than 700 critical messages have been posted on the ministry’s online bulletin board since Monday when such steps were announced. One Internet user said Korea is not a refugee camp for the Japanese, while others say that the Korean government should place top priority on protecting its citizens and prevent those contaminated with radiation from coming here.

But the ministry refuted such claims, saying its measures are only intended to provide humanitarian assistance to Japanese tourists, students and businessmen at a difficult time.

“Some Internet users misinterpreted our policies. What we want to do is to help the Japanese travel easier to and from Korea. We have nothing to do with screening those coming from Japan for radioactive contamination. The education, science and technology ministry, and other state agencies are responsible for it,” a ministry official, who did not want to be identified, told The Korea Times.

The official said the ministry has been and will do everything it can to help Japan recover.