MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

WHO: radiation risk in Japan limited to area next to damaged nuclear plant

Gregory Hartl, spokesman for the WHO: “it is a local risk”

The risk of the contamination of food products from nuclear radiation in Japan is limited to the specific area surrounding the damaged nuclear plant, according to a source from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Gregory Hartl, spokesman for the WHO in Geneva, said that “it is a local risk” while adding that “if there is any contamination, it will only affect products within a 30 kilometre radius from the Fukushima plant.”

Hartl also said that the organization is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN’s agriculture sector to gather more information about the risks, according to a new agency.

Refrigeration systems at the Fukushima plant failed after the earthquake and the tsunami that shook Japan last week.

Italy prohibited the importation of products from Japan as fears of contamination still loomed, according to Italy’s Health Minister.

Meantime France said that G7 finance ministers and central bankers would discuss the economic impact of Japan's earthquake, including possible measures to calm financial markets. A government source said the discussion would likely take place by conference call before the end of the week.

France, which chairs both the G8 group of industrialised nations and the G20 club of rich and developing countries, also said it would propose a G20 ministerial meeting on future options for the energy sector after Japan's nuclear crisis.

“We need to be at the disposal of our Japanese friends on monetary matters,” Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said after the government's weekly cabinet meeting.

“I have asked for a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers so that we can see in what way we can take part in their debt issues and how we can react on a financial level,” she said.

The government source said the discussions would involve a broad look at the economic implications of the crisis, including its impact on economic growth and energy supply and its effect on the financial markets.