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omonatheydid
A South Korean elementary school student, wearing a mask, goes to school with an umbrella in hand on April 7, 2011, amid fears that the rain may contain radioactive materials from the crippled nuclear reactors in Japan. The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) said that tests conducted on rainwater that fell in the early morning hours of the day showed minuscule traces of iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137
The radioactive rain scare sweeping South Korea has caused the closing of some elementary schools on Thursday following a storm of requests from parents anxious about their children's health.
Fears have grown sharply as rumors of radioactive rain circulated the Internet after weather agencies in Norway and Germany, respectively, warned earlier this week that radioactive particles from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan could reach the Korean peninsula in a few days.
School boards across the country advised principals to use their discretion in suspending outdoor activities or even closing school to allay mounting uneasiness among parents.
The Baeyang Elementary School in Gyeonggi province outlying the capital Seoul was one of a number of schools that chose to shut for the day.
The principal told Xinhua that he received a few calls from parents asking about the closing of school and decided to shut school for the day to ease their worries.
The country's nuclear safety agency said minuscule traces of iodine and cesium were reported in the rain falling on the island of Jeju off the country's south coast but the amount was not enough to cause public health concern.
Meanwhile, the Korea Meteorological Administration played down the prospect of direct radiation fallout from the crippled nuclear plant in Japan.
"The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety announced that a small level of radioactive particles were detected in rainwater on Jeju Island, but we believe that they are not from Fukushima," the weather agency's spokesman Kim Seung-bae said in a briefing.
He said that air current analysis shows that the winds blowing from Japan will circle clockwise and fade out towards the Pacific Ocean by Friday, leaving the Korean peninsula unaffected.
However, public concerns over radioactive rain remained high. "I did not want to go out today because I did not trust what the national weather agency said, but since I had to leave home, I prepared myself as much as possible such as wearing a waterproof jacket," said Bae Sung-cheol, 27.
There were some who dismissed public fears. "I heard the amount of radioactive particles is small, and some say it is less than the amount of radiation exposed to during an X-ray. So I don' t really worry," said Sung Si-wook, 20.
South Korea also held the first meeting of a ministerial taskforce formed to ensure public health and food safety in the face of possible radiation exposure from the nuclear disaster.
Special task force meetings will be held twice a week presided over by the Prime Minister's Office and attended by ministers of the relevant bodies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The task force will mainly discuss measures to counter nuclear leaks and ways to enhance the safety of the country's nuclear plants, as well as food imported from Japan.
Source: xinhuanet
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Date: 2011-04-07 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 12:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 12:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 02:49 pm (UTC)So, um...yeah. If you decide to check them out (which you totally should), be careful ^_^;
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Date: 2011-04-07 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 03:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 03:26 pm (UTC)No really, yeah I'm 6th Gen! The Epik teacher briefly mentioned yesterday about "radioactive rain" but I didn't hear anything from anyone else. I don't think they cared either.
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Date: 2011-04-07 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 03:35 pm (UTC)I hope you like Jeju when you come! It is getting really beautiful here now! Spring has arrived! It is still really windy tho!
Do you like being in Korea? Are you going to extend again?
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Date: 2011-04-07 04:13 pm (UTC)Yeah, I am also terrible at studying myself so I just signed up for a class in Daegu. If you find a class, definitely go for it! It's really worth it. (I heard free classes are not so helpful tho, so be aware of that) I hope you find something!!
I'm sure I will love Jeju. :)
And about extending... I'm actually not sure yet. I need to decide quick though... =/
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Date: 2011-04-07 04:00 pm (UTC)I could really go back there for a nice vacation :-)
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Date: 2011-04-09 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 12:40 pm (UTC)My legs are a little bit itchy rn but that could be from other things..
Not too worrying yet.
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Date: 2011-04-07 12:44 pm (UTC)People in Japan are NOT doing this, why should Korea?
Living in Tokyo right now and I don't see people covering themselves up in waterproof clothes when it rains.
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Date: 2011-04-07 12:44 pm (UTC)I hope it really is all ok in Korea though.
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Date: 2011-04-07 12:47 pm (UTC)Honestly, umbrellas only keep your head from being soaking wet. My extremities got a little damp.
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Date: 2011-04-07 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 10:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 03:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 10:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 01:10 pm (UTC)I don't think anyone in Seoul was really bothered because it barely rained at all..
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Date: 2011-04-07 01:39 pm (UTC)Most newspapers and websites were reporting of showers Jeju and other southern provinces of Korea, so I don't think we are to judge if there was really a scare or not, because we are not in the part of the country the articles are referring to.
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Date: 2011-04-07 01:01 pm (UTC)Some cover themselves but not to the extent.
Other countries panic more than japan..
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Date: 2011-04-07 01:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 01:13 pm (UTC)>.> Also didn't bring my umbrella to work (forgot, running late). If I grow any extra appendages I'll let y'all know.
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Date: 2011-04-07 01:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 01:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 01:57 pm (UTC)lolwat? when did they start doing that tho, i swear i would have heard it from my mother by now if they did.
i can understand that people are cautious when it comes to kids since they are more vunerable, but honestly, i feel like people outside of tokyo/japan are freaking out a lot more than those of us who live here. it's ridiculous
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Date: 2011-04-07 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 03:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-07 10:12 pm (UTC)Schools are supposed to be places for education. To start with, they can educate themselves about "radiation". Christ, the longer goes on, the more ridiculous this gets. I wonder if there was this sort of global panic after the atomic bombing of Japan, and more importantly, if there was any widespread global impact outside of a local radius. I somehow feel like that spewed a lot more radiation into the air than this...
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Date: 2011-04-08 10:04 am (UTC)korea is all about The Hype