Schools in Tokyo ban use of playground sandboxes over radiation fears

[kristopher]

Schools in Tokyo ban use of playground sandboxes over radiation fears

A number of schools in Tokyo are banning the use of playground sandboxes or replacing their sand due to radiation fears even though the capital is more than 200 kilometers away from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

While there is no government-set standard over the radiation levels in sandboxes, there are reports that levels of radiation exceeding standards set voluntarily by local municipalities have been detected in sandboxes at schools in Tokyo. Local governments and school officials are intensifying their calls on the central government to draw up a safety standard at an early date.

In Tokyo's Katsushika Ward, officials measured atmospheric radiation dosages in 378 sandboxes at kindergartens, elementary and junior high schools and parks in the ward between Aug. 3 and 17 upon requests by residents. As a result, radiation doses in 29 sandboxes surpassed the 0.25 microsieverts per hour level set by the ward as its own safety limit based on the standards drawn up by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and other organizations.

If radiation doses exceed that standard, a person who stayed at such a location for eight hours a day would be exposed to more than 1 millisievert of radiation a year, according to the ward.

Based on the measurement ...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110830p2a00m0na015000c.html