放射能漏出 監視を強化し「食」の不安防げ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 22, 2011)
Govt must toughen control of radiation in food
放射能漏出　監視を強化し「食」の不安防げ（3月21日付・読売社説）

All-out efforts are being made to gain control of malfunctioning reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
　東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故は、沈静化を目指して、懸命の作業が進められている。

TEPCO's plant workers, Self-Defense Forces personnel and firefighters are working painstakingly to restore power supply at the plant and spray water into damaged spent nuclear fuel storage pools while taking great care about the amount of radiation they are exposed to.
　外部から電源を引き込む工事や使用済み核燃料の貯蔵プールへの放水も、発電所員や自衛隊、消防隊員が、被曝(ひばく)量をにらみつつ続行している。

If electrical power is recovered and the storage pools are filled with enough water, the situation will hopefully turn for the better. We pray anew that their desperate efforts will be successful.
　電源が回復し、貯蔵プールに十分な量の水が入れば、状況の好転が期待できる。命がけの努力が実ることを改めて願う。

But spraying water alone will not solve the problem. And even if the power supply is restored, it remains to be seen whether principal equipment in the plant can resume operation.
　ただ、放水を続けるだけでは抜本的な対策にならない。電源が回復しても、原発内の主要な機器が復旧するかどうかわからない。

The government must prepare the next steps while analyzing images of the reactors taken from SDF helicopters to determine the degree of damage.
　自衛隊ヘリによる上空からの破損状況の撮影データなどをもとに政府は、さらなる手段を、先手を打って検討しておくべきだ。

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Little risk to health

The fact that radioactive materials have been found in drinking water and agricultural products in the aftermath of accidents at the nuclear plant is increasing public anxiety.
　事故で漏出した放射性物質による飲料水や農作物などの汚染も、不安を広げている。

Radioactive substances have been detected in tap water in Tokyo and elsewhere. But their amounts are extremely small, so they pose little health risk. An amount of radioactive iodine slightly exceeding the current limit, which was set temporarily in line with the Food Sanitation Law, was detected Thursday in tap water in Kawamatamachi, Fukushima Prefecture. But the amount subsequently dropped to half the limit.
　東京都などで水道水から放射性物質が検出された。ごく微量で健康に影響はない。福島県川俣町では１７日、食品衛生法の暫定規制値をわずかに上回る放射性ヨウ素が水道水から検出された。翌日に規制値の半分に戻った。

In the case of tap water, radioactive materials can be mostly eliminated by normal purification done at water purification plants.
　水道水は浄水の過程で、放射性物質をほぼ除去できる。

Random checks of food products conducted by the government showed the amount of radioactive substances in milk and spinach in Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures exceeded the provisional limits.
　政府が実施した食品の抜き取り調査で、福島、茨城両県で牛乳やホウレンソウが暫定規制値を上回るなどの例も報告されている。

The detected amounts are far short of levels that could immediately harm health if ingested. According to the government, drinking an average yearly amount of milk that contained the detected level of radiation would be equivalent to the radiation exposure of one computed tomography (CT) scan.
　摂取しても直ちに健康に影響するほどの量ではない。政府は、この牛乳について、１年間摂取しても、被曝する放射線量は「コンピューター断層撮影法」（ＣＴ）１回分と説明している。

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Calm response urged

Therefore, a calm reaction is called for.
　冷静に対応しよう。

Moreover, the two products in question have not appeared on the market because both prefectures called on producers to voluntarily refrain from shipping their products.
　しかも両県は、これらの食品について出荷自粛を求めており、市場には出回っていない。

The government should cooperate with prefectural governments to ensure thorough checks and quick public disclosure will be conducted. New regulatory measures such as the halting of shipments and recall of goods already shipped must be studied so measures can be implemented promptly when radiation exceeding limits is found in food.
　こうした検査と迅速な情報公開を、政府は都道府県と協力して徹底することが求められる。規制値以上の食品が見つかった際に即応できるよう、出荷停止や回収などの新たな規制も検討課題だ。

To help prevent damage caused by rumors, the government and prefectural governments must carefully and repeatedly explain that thorough checks can ensure our food remains safe to eat.
　風評被害を防ぐために、政府や都道府県は、検査の徹底で安全が確保できることを、国民に繰り返し、丁寧に説明すべきだ。

Because the government did not assume a serious nuclear accident, it has not established standards to regulate radiation levels in food.
　これまで政府は、食品の放射能汚染を規制する基準を設けていなかった。重大な原発事故を想定していなかったためだ。

After the accidents at the Fukushima plant, the government temporarily adopted guidelines proposed by an international organization. But it is necessary to study whether the international food safety standards can fit Japanese dietary habits, thereby avoiding excessive regulations.
　今回は国際機関が提案した指針を暫定的に採用したが、日本人の食生活の実態に適しているかを検討し、過剰な規制も防ぎたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 21, 2011)
（2011年3月21日00時54分 読売新聞）