– Radiation screening in high demand in Fukushima (Asahi, June 17, 2011):
…The Fukushima city government plans to distribute small dosimeters to about 34,000 children attending day-care centers, kindergartens as well as elementary and junior high schools in the city, except those run by the central government. Accumulated radiation levels will be measured for a three-month period from September.
The total cost of the program will be about 160 million yen ($2 million). Date and Kawamata will also distribute dosimeters to all children in elementary and junior high schools.
The spread of radiation measurement testing has also led to some confusion.
The Iitate village government had displayed the results of radiation measurements in front of the government building but had to temporarily stop the announcements because the results were different from tests conducted by the prefectural government.
According to officials of K.K. Alpha Tsushin, the Tokyo-based company that provided the radiation testing equipment to Iitate, radiation levels on May 30 were about 8.9 microsieverts per hour. The results released by the prefectural government for that area had levels of 2.8 microsieverts.
Company officials reduced the number of radiation types tested and raised the height of the counter to the 1-meter level used in testing by the prefectural government. That produced a result of 3.8 microsieverts per hour.