Brussel: Europees stralingsniveau normaal (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - There is no sign that radioactive particles from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power station have reached the European Union, the European Commission has said.

"We have several thousand pieces of equipment all over the European Union in the member states," spokeswoman Marlene Holzner told journalists on Wednesday (3 March).

"In times like this where we have accidents in Japan, member states are obliged to measure every single hour and I have no indication from my experts that we have higher radiation levels in Europe at the moment," she added.

On Monday the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) announced a nuclear cloud would pass over France and Belgium on Wednesday or Thursday, although scientists say radiation levels will be too weak to cause any risk to human health.

The Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute has subsequently said the cloud is likely to miss the country which hosts the bulk of the EU institutions, reports the Le Soir daily.

The European Commission has asked EU member states to carry out tests on food imports from Japan, with EU rules set up following Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster requiring governments to trigger an alert mechanism if radiation is detected.

Japan's food exports to the EU were a modest €65 million last year, with products including vegetables and green tea. The US became the first country this week to place a ban on milk products, fruit and vegetables from areas near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

On Wednesday Japanese authorities said the level of radioactive iodine found in Tokyo's tap water was double the recommended limit for young children, advising against its use for mixing milk formula.

Emergency work at the Fukushima station also ground to a halt after grey smoke was seen pouring from the plant's number three reactor, the second time in three days.

A magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on Friday 11 March, cutting the electricity supply to the plants cooling systems. Overheated uranium has subsequently caused a series of fires and explosions.

The latest figures from the Japanese government suggest the event could cause losses of up to $300 billion (€212 billion).