" A wrong sense of security"

October 24, 2012

Japanese government radiation monitoring posts not showing reality: Greenpeace

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121024b7.html

Kyodo

Greenpeace said Tuesday a survey it carried out has found that many of the official radiation monitoring posts set up after the Fukushima nuclear crisis provide lower readings than nearby locations and the environmental group is urging the government to disseminate more accurate data to the public.

Greenpeace said its survey, conducted from Tuesday to Friday of last week in the city of Fukushima, showed that 30 of the 40 government-set monitoring posts recorded lower radiation levels than the environmental group found in spots just 5 to 40 meters away.

One monitoring post in a park showed less than one-twelfth the radiation levels seen in nearby areas in the same park, it said.

The differences may be a result of land at the monitoring posts being decontaminated when they were set up, Greenpeace said. Concrete and metal plates on the monitoring posts' bases are also believed to be screening the instruments from radiation.

"The government should not offer a wrong sense of security to citizens," a Greenpeace official said.