Japanese Schools Asked to Map Fallout Contamination
June 14th, 2011Via: Reuters:
Fukushima is estimated to have released just 15 percent of the radiation at Chernobyl, but a complicated software modeling system created by the government to predict where the radiation would drift proved useless.
Under pressure to provide a more accurate picture of the contamination, the Ministry of Education has promised to complete a detailed survey of the evacuated area by October.
Since last week, local governments have been enlisted to provide daily reports of radiation.
More than 1,000 public schools in Fukushima were equipped with dosimeters in late May and teachers were asked to record hourly radiation readings to help create a contamination map.
But some experts say even these added steps are far from enough. “We need a new and more comprehensive system for monitoring radiation,” said Takumi Gotoh, a Nagoya-based cancer specialist. “The system that exists now is not sufficient.”
