It is “highly unlikely” that vehicles from the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan which are still coming into New Zealand would pose a health risk, according to New Zealand Transport Agency.
NZTA’s National Manager Vehicles Don Hutchinson says the Japanese authorities have been monitoring machinery, including vehicles, for any signs of contamination and there are strict controls in place preventing any contaminated goods leaving the ports.
“Given the checks put in place by other agencies, NZTA does not plan to introduce any specific screening for radiation on imported vehicles.
“The industry and potential vehicle buyers here can be assured that the appropriate controls and checks are already in place so that it would be highly unlikely that any imported vehicle would pose a potential health risk.”
The National Radiation Laboratory in New Zealand is closely monitoring the situation along with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and it advises that radiation contamination is unlikely to pose any health risks.
And Mr Hutchinson says the situation will continue to be monitored.
“All vehicles leaving Japanese ports undergo a rigorous pre-cleaning process as part of the existing bio-security checks."
NZTA has also been told that any minute traces of radioactivity found in dust can be removed by washing the vehicle.
Yesterday, workers were pumping more than three million gallons of contaminated water from Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear power complex into the Pacific Ocean, in an attempt to free up storage space for even more highly radioactive water that has hampered efforts to stabilise the plant's reactors.
The Japanese government has also asked Russia for a ship that is used to dispose of liquid nuclear waste as it tries to decontaminate the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, whose cooling systems were knocked out by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
The plant also plans to bring in a floating storage facility.
The crisis has unfolded as Japan deals with the aftermath of twin natural disasters that devastated much of its north-eastern coast.
Up to 25,000 people are believed to have died and tens of thousands lost their homes.
Since the disaster, water with different levels of radioactivity has been pooling throughout the plant. People who live within 20 kilometres have been evacuated and have not been allowed to return.
3 News