Japan moves to protect children as new nuclear leak revealed

By Chisa Fujioka and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Nick Macfie
27 May 2011 (Reuters) – Japan will pay schools near the quake-ravaged Fukushima nuclear power plant to remove radioactive top soil and set a lower radiation exposure limit for schoolchildren after a growing outcry over health risks. The Education Ministry triggered protests in April when it set a radiation exposure limit for children of 20 millisieverts per year, the same dosage the International Commission on Radiation Protection recommends for nuclear plant workers. The decision became a focal point for anger over Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s handling of the crisis and the forced evacuation of tens of thousands residents. Education Minister Yoshiaki Takaki said Tokyo would pay for local schools to remove topsoil in playgrounds that exceeded radiation limits. It would also set a target of radiation exposure for children at schools of one-twentieth of the previous limit. “We will provide financial support to schools for measures to deal with soil in school yards as a way to lower radiation levels for children,” Takaki told a news conference. …