<\/p>\n
HRN joined a joint petition “Urgent Petition Against 20 millisieverts per year (mSv\/y) Radiation Exposure onto Children in Fukushima”<\/span><\/p>\n \n We urgently demand the withdrawal of the Japanese Government’s\u00a0inhumane decision to force 20\u00a0millisieverts per year (mSv\/y) radiation exposure\u00a0onto children.<\/p>\n \n “Urgent Petition Against 20 millisieverts per year (mSv\/y) Radiation Exposure onto Children in Fukushima”<\/p>\n \n On April 19th, the Ministry of Education, Culture,\u00a0Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) notified\u00a0the Board of Education and related institutions in\u00a0Fukushima Prefecture the level of 20 millisieverts\u00a0per year (mSv\/y) as a Radiation Safety Standard for\u00a0schools in Fukushima Prefecture. This is the\u00a0standard to be used for school grounds and buildings.\u00a0The Government has indicated that 20mSv\/y is\u00a0equivalent to 3.8microSv per hour measured\u00a0outdoors.<\/p>\n \n 3.8 micro Sv\/h is roughly 6 times\u00a0[the 0.6microSv\/h] of “Radiation Controlled\u00a0Areas” (0.6 microSv\/h or more). The Labour\u00a0Standards Act prohibits those under the\u00a0age of 18 from working under these\u00a0conditions. Forcing children to be exposed\u00a0to such radiation doses is an exceedingly\u00a0inhumane decision. Therefore, we condemn\u00a0this in the strongest terms.<\/p>\n \n 20 mSv\/y is comparable to the [legally]\u00a0recognized dose for inducing leukemia in\u00a0nuclear power plant workers. It is also\u00a0comparable to the maximum dose allowed for\u00a0nuclear power plant workers in Germany.<\/p>\n \n In addition, this 20mSv standard [for Japanese\u00a0children] does not take into account the fact that children have higher sensitivity to radiation than\u00a0adults, nor does it take into account any\u00a0internal radiation exposure.<\/p>\n \n Currently, according to the radiation monitoring\u00a0conducted at elementary and middle schools within\u00a0Fukushima Prefecture, more than 75% of these\u00a0schools have contamination levels comparable to\u00a0“Radiation Controlled Areas” (0.6 micro Sv\/h or\u00a0more). Further, roughly 20% of the schools fall\u00a0within “Individual Exposure Controlled Areas”\u00a0(2.3 microSv\/h or more) and are in an extremely\u00a0dangerous situation.<\/p>\n \n The current level set by the Japanese Government\u00a0amounts to the coercion of children to endure this dangerous\u00a0situation, and, may interfere with\u00a0voluntary measures by schools to minimize exposure.<\/p>\n \n MEXT states that 20mSv\/y is based on the\u00a0recommendation Pub.109 by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP),\u00a0<\/span>as well as on the reference levels in the band of 1\u00a0to 20 mSv\/y as “Post Emergency Situation”\u00a0Standards from the ICRP statement released on\u00a0March 21st. The latter means that MEXT has adopted\u00a0the maximum level.<\/p>\n \n As of March 21st, there has been no substantive\u00a0information disclosure by the Japanese Government\u00a0on the decision-making process for establishing\u00a0these standards. Moreover, no explanation has\u00a0been given concerning why the Government has\u00a0neither taken the sensitivity of children into\u00a0consideration nor internal radiation exposure into\u00a0account. The contents of the consultation held\u00a0between MEXT and the Nuclear Safety Commission\u00a0(NSC) are not disclosed, and the situation remains\u00a0extremely opaque.<\/p>\n \n \n We demand that the Japanese government do the\u00a0following:<\/p>\n \n – Retract the “20mSv\/y” standard for\u00a0children.<\/span><\/p>\n \n – Disclose of the names of the experts who deemed “20mSv\/y” for\u00a0children to be safe.<\/span><\/p>\n \n \n Note:<\/p>\n At the governmental negotiation held on April 21st, it\u00a0became evident that the Nuclear Safety Commission\u00a0(NSC) concluded the 20mSv\/y standard for children\u00a0as “Permissible” without undertaking any formal\u00a0consultation. Moreover, on April 22nd, the\u00a0Commission reported to the office of Mizuho\u00a0FUKUSHIMA, member of the Japanese Diet, House of\u00a0Councillors that no minutes (records) exist of the 5\u00a0Nuclear Safety Commission members’ deliberation\u00a0leading to the 20mSv\/year standard.<\/p>\n \n References:<\/p>\n Expert comments cited from the articles on the\u00a0establishment of the 20mSv\/y standard (“Fukushima\u00a0-Katastrophe – Japan legt hohe Strahlengrenzwerte fur\u00a0Kinder fest” or “Japan’s MEXT sets High Exposure\u00a0Limits for Children”), Der Spiegel, April 21st, 2011.<\/p>\n (See comparison to German workers.)<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/wissenschaft\/mensch\/0,1518,758410,00.html<\/a><\/p>\n \n Edmund Lengfelder (Otto Hug Radiation Institute),\u00a0“The cancer risk will visibly rise in the future. By\u00a0setting these standards, the government will steer\u00a0clear of any liability legally, however not morally.”<\/p>\n \n ——-<\/p>\n \n This petition is being organized by:<\/p>\n Green Action, Greenpeace Japan,<\/p>\n Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center,<\/p>\n Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants (Fukuro-no-Kai),<\/p>\n Osaka Citizens Against the Mihama, Oi, and Takahama Nuclear Power\u00a0Plants (Mihama-no-Kai),<\/p>\n Friends of the Earth Japan<\/p>\n \n For further inquiries, please contact:<\/p>\n \n Green Action<\/p>\n Suite 103, 22-75 Tanaka Sekiden-cho<\/p>\n Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8203 Japan<\/p>\n Tel: +81-75-701-7223<\/p>\n