’Radiation in northern Seoul in safe level’

By Kim Rahn

A nuclear energy body said the radiation recently detected in a residential area in northern Seoul was within the safety level.

In disagreement environmental groups said it is still “not safe” and the authorities should find out how the contaminated materials were used in the pavement and check the health of all the residents.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said Tuesday that despite radioactive materials detected in the asphalt in Wolgye-dong, Nowon District, villagers were exposed to radioactivity within the annual dose limit.

“The residents may receive 0.51-0.69 milli-Siverts (mSv) of radiation per year, which is lower than the annual artificial radiation dose limit of 1 mSv. When considering a person receives an average 3 mSv per year including radioactivity from nature, the amount is between one sixth and one fourth of the average,” a commission official said based on investigation by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.

“The detected amount is within the safety level not harmful to either adult or children,” he said.

The inspection also showed cesium-137 was detected in the pavement materials. The radioactivity level was 1.82-35.4 Becquerels (Bq), more than 10 Bq which is the standard for cesium’s radioactivity.

“We’ll discard the asphalt containing higher-than-standard cesium as ‘radioactive waste.’ We also asked Seoul City, which was in charge of the paving, to investigate how the contaminated materials came to be used,” the official said.

He added the authorities will inspect all oil refining companies, steel companies and asphalt material makers until the end of the year.

Seoul City also said it has investigated 16 asphalt material producing companies which have supplied asphalt to the city but detected no higher-than-standard radiation.

“We also measured radioactivity levels at 300 roads among 340 which were paved in 2000 when the Wolgye-dong streets in question was paved, and they all indicated radiation within standards,” a city official said.

Insufficient investigation

Environmental groups said the inspection was lacking to deem residents are “safe.”

“Even the authorities said the detected cesium was toxic material to be discarded as radioactive waste. But the commission claims it is not dangerous, while residents there have been exposed to the material in their everyday lives for 10 years,” the Korea Federation for Environmental Movement said in a statement.

The group also criticized the commission for not investigating the possibility that a higher level of radioactivity was contained in the asphalt in 2000 but the level has gradually decreased; the possibility villagers have inhaled the material as the asphalt may have been worn away and mixed in the air; and the possibility that abnormal health conditions from radiation exposure can develop slowly over a period of years.

It said the authorities should apologize to the public for failing to control radioactivity-contaminated materials and investigate how it happened.

“We called for the government to inspect all roads across the nation jointly with civic experts. The government also should check the residents’ health,” it said.