China Focus: China improves openness to nuclear data to defuse public fears

China Focus: China improves openness to nuclear data to defusepublic fears

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- To monitor whether there isradiation from Japan, Zheng Wentong has stayed for a week inLaoheishan Town, a remote town in northeast China's HeilongjiangProvince near the China-Russia border.

The town, located in Dongning County, is the nearest spot in theprovince to quake-hit Japan. After the nuclear leak at the Daiichinuclear plant in Fukushima, Zheng reported the radiation statusevery three hours to the provincial capital Harbin, based upon thedata received from a high-pressure ionization chamber placedoutdoors.

"By far, no abnormality has been detected," said Zheng, who isamong hundreds of technical workers engaged in 24-hour radiationmonitoring in coastal areas of eastern China and provincialcapitals.

By Tuesday, eleven days after the catastrophe in Japan, China' senvironmental protection ministry had released radiation monitoringinformation at least 15 times to demonstrate that there is noimmediate threat from radioactive leaks.

The intensive information was disclosed after radiation concernscaused fears and public panic. People flooded into groceries, storesand supermarkets to buy salt, assuming that the iodine contained inthe salt would help shield them from radioactivity.

The situation eased after the government ordered the securing ofsalt supplies and as experts confirmed that salt was almost uselessto counter radiation.

"My friends told me not to eat seafood or hang out at the beachanymore," said Zhang Yan, a worker at a state-owned company in thecoast city of Qingdao in Shandong Province.

Agricultural and sideline products, such as rice and edible oil,was in high demand in some regions. Rumors like "radiation-contained rain" are also spreading through the Internet.

In fact, according to the State Oceanic Administration, thesamples from the Yellow Sea coast show no abnormal radiation so far.

Xia Yihua, a researcher with the China Institute of AtomicEnergy, said that the public had little access to nuclear knowledgeand people are eager to acquire authentic information throughauthoritative channels.

"The government has attached great importance to nuclearinformation disclosure, and we release information only afterdiscreet confirmation," Xia said.

Environmental protection authorities required monitoring stationsto keep a closer watch on radiation data and report every threehours, instead of twice a day.

On Monday, the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau releasedenvironmental protection data on the city from March 12 to 20 andannounced that it would continue to disclose the data in the future.

"With the information disclosed, I do not feel so scared. Japanis far from us, after all." said Zhang Yan.

Chai Guohan, a researcher with the Nuclear and Radiation SafetyCenter operated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, saidthat the preciseness and openness of nuclear information was helpfulto dispel public panic.

"Central and local environmental protection departments releaseauthoritative information every day, and people should trust it,instead of rumors from other sources," Chai said.