Radiation trace found on Japan air passengers to South Korea

Travellers from Japan line up to go through a screening gate as staff from Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council monitors the radiation level on them at Taipei’s Songshan airport March 17, 2011. Taiwan authorities started to screen travellers from Japan at airports on Wednesday and Taiwan’s anti-chemical troops joined in the effort today, according to local media.


South Korean officials detected unusually high levels of radiation on three passengers arriving from Japan today on the first day of such checks at the country’s main Incheon airport, news reports said.

A Japanese man in his 50s who is believed to have lived in the Fukushima prefecture had a reading exceeding 1 microsieverts from his hat and coat, which is several times the normal reading, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.



The level poses no public health risk and officials will release the three passengers, YTN television said.

South Korea’s nuclear safety agency has said it considered 300 nanosieverts per hour as the ceiling of normal level of radiation in atmosphere. One microsievert translates to 1,000 nanosieverts.

The checks at the airport were voluntary, a Reuters photographer at the airport said.

Vice Science Minister Kim Chang-kyung told lawmakers today that officials were preparing to set up monitoring devices at the southern port of Busan soon to measure radiation levels on ferry passengers arriving from Japan.