Tsunami ripple in Chennai: Mails spread rumours of radiation showers

CHENNAI: The city has seen an aftershock of the Japanese tsunami.
These weren't seismic tremors but mere rumors. The earthquake and the
subsequent nuclear blast in Japan have started a series of rumors in
the city asking people not to go out in the rain lest they get caught
in radioactive showers which could cause skin cancers and other
ailments.

These rumors and chain mails started by unknown sources warn people
from going out in the rain as "radioactive particles, which may cause
burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain." The mails warn
people to use raincoats, umbrellas and scarves even if there is only a
light drizzle, as even some part of the allegedly radioactive waters
could be harmful.

Experts have rubbished these rumors saying there is no scientific or
logical basis to these rumors. "There have been blasts but the amounts
of radiation released are definitely not high enough to affect people
in India," said Dr M Srinivasan, former associate director of the
physics group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

He added that even in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, one of the worst
nuclear power plant accidents in history where huge amounts of
radiation was released, only the neigbouring countries were affected.
No other part of the world was affected. "Even the idea that a
radiation leak in Japan could affect us is ridiculous. We are very
very far away," he said.

Unless the amount of radiation released was immense, and there were
heavy winds blowing in the direction of India, it was impossible for
India to be affected, he said. "Even then given how far away from
Japan India is, we are not at risk," he said.

Experts also said that as India was not even among the countries which
had been issued earthquake or tsunami warnings after the earthquake in
Japan and it was impossible for us to be affected. They felt that such
baseless rumors must be curbed and instead of creating panic, people
must focus on what they could do to help quake victims.

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