HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

March 23, 2011. Tap water in Tokyo unsafe for infants due to radiation, lighting restored in reactor number 3

SOURCE: Altegrity Risk International

The tap water in Tokyo is unfit for babies to drink after radiation from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi affected the capital city's water supply, officials said on March 23rd. Radioactive iodine levels in some areas of the capital were twice the recommended safe levels in tests carried out on March 22nd. Officials, however, said that there was no immediate health risks to other groups in Tokyo and that infants would have to drink a lot of water to be affected. In Fukushima prefecture, meanwhile, officials warned residents not to eat certain vegetables over contamination fears. The confirmed death toll from the earthquake and tsunami rose to 9,408, with more than 14,700 people listed as missing. An estimated 500,000 people were made homeless by the March 11th disaster, with some 300,000 still living in evacuation centers or temporary housing.

At the Fukushima Daiichi plant, meanwhile, officials temporarily evacuated workers from the plant on March 23rd after smoke was seen rising from reactor no 3. Officials were also forced to halt testing of the electrical system at reactor no 2 after radiation levels spiked. Temperatures in reactor no 1 rose sharply on March 23rd, forcing officials to pump more saltwater to attempt to cool it. Officials managed to reconnect power cables to all six reactors and restored lighting at reactor no 3. The plant's operator hoped to turn on the power pumps to reactor no 3 later on March 23rd.

The United States' Food and Drug Administration said that all milk and milk products, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, from four Japanese prefectures (Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gunma, and Tochigi) would be barred from the United States, reports said on March 23rd. China, Taiwan, South Korea, and others already banned or restricted Japanese goods.