ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

Date: 22 December 2011

Advice for Australians on exposure to radiation arising from the nuclear accident in Japan

Current Situation

In December 2011 the Japanese Government announced that all reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi site are in cold shutdown. This significantly reduces the likelihood of uncontrolled release of radiological materials to the environment.

Radioactive contamination from previous releases is still present in the immediate vicinity of the Fukushima Dai-ichi site and has the continued potential to affect food produced in the area. The Japanese Government has measures in place to monitor and restrict the distribution of any contaminated foods. Details of the Japanese monitoring program are provided by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Advice on imported foodstuffs to Australia is available at Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), however it is not expected that contaminated foods will reach Australia.

ARPANSA continues to monitor the situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi site and will provide further advice if there is a significant change to the situation in Japan.

Travel to Japan

The joint recommendation by ARPANSA and the Department of Health and Ageing is that Australians should not enter into the 30 km zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi site or specific zones designated by the Japanese Government.

Australians should exercise a high degree of caution within the Precautionary Zone between 30 km and 80 km around the Fukushima Dai-ichi site and follow the advice of the local government authorities.

Australians visiting and returning home from Japan are highly unlikely to be contaminated or exposed to increased radiation due to the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident and will not require checks for radioactivity.
Up-to-date advice for Australians in or returning from Japan is provided at www.smartraveller.gov.au.

Impact on Australia

Environmental modelling and monitoring confirms that minimal radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant has or will reach Australia. As a result, the health consequences for Australian citizens are negligible.

Current ARPANSA Advice:

• Australians living in Japan
• Statement about the Inspection of Cars at Port Kembla Shipped from Japan

Past ARPANSA Advice:

• Shelter in place (sheltering)
• Potassium iodide tablets
• Consolidated Advice for Medical Practitioners including FAQs
• Restriction on Flights and Shipping to Japan
• Australians remaining in Japan
• Australians returning home
• April-May Darwin detection information

Links to Advice on Australian Government Sites:

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

• Travel advice for Japan (Smartraveller)

Australian Customs and Border Detection

• Processing imported goods and passengers arriving from Japan (PDF 49kb)
• Processing maritime cargo vessels arriving from Japan (PDF 43kb)

Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

• Safety of food from Japan - a fact sheet from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)

• Imported Food Notices - DAFF

Links to International Sites:

International Atomic Energy Agency

• Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Information Sheet
• Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log

World Health Organization

• FAQs: Japan nuclear concerns

For urgent media queries please contact:
Alan Mason on 0405 000 939 or
David Tredinnick on 040 4045 870.

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