Tap water in
Tokyo tested two times above the limit for radioactive iodine considered safe for infants, officials said on Wednesday amid burgeoning concerns about food and water safety as a nuclear plant in the northeast continued to leak radiation.
Levels of radioactive iodine in tap water at a water treatment center in downtown Tokyo measured 210 becquerels per liter of iodine-131 - more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per liter for infants, officials from the Tokyo Water Bureau said at a news conference.
Infants are extremely vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which can cause thyroid cancer, experts say. The level found in Tokyo tap water does not pose an immediate health risk to adults, officials said.
"We advise against using the tap water for drinking and for making infant formula for babies under 1 year old," said Shintaro Ishihara, Tokyo's governor.
The unsettling new development affecting Japan's largest city, home to some 13 million in the city center and 39 million residents in the great Tokyo area, comes as nuclear officials struggle to stabilize the damaged power plant in Fukushima to the northeast.
The sprawling Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, 140 miles (220 kilometers) from Tokyo, was crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami that struck off the coast of Sendai and knocked out the plant's crucial cooling systems.
Explosions and fires have erupted in four of the plant's six reactors, leaking radioactive steam into the air. Progress in cooling down the overheated facility has been intermittent, disrupted by rises in radiation, elevated pressure in reactors and overheated storage pools.
Radiation, meanwhile, has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and even seawater in the areas surrounding the plant.
Broccoli was added early Wednesday to a list of tainted vegetables that already includes spinach, canola and chrysanthemum greens.
The Health Ministry ordered officials in the area of the stricken plant to step up the monitoring of seawater and seafood after elevated levels of radioactive iodine and cesium were found in ocean water near the complex.
A research vessel had been dispatched to collect and analyze samples, Education Ministry official Shigeharu Kato said.
In Washington, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would halt imports of dairy products and produce from the Fukushima region. Other foods imported from Japan, including seafood, will still be sold to the public but screened first for radiation, the agency said.
Japanese foods make up less than 4 percent of all U.S. imports, and the FDA has said it expects no risk to the U.S. food supply from radiation.
Residents of cities in Japan's northeast had been advised not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of radioactive iodine.
However, in Tokyo, the radiation found in Tokyo tap water measured just 2.9 becquerels as recently as Sunday, according to government reports. The Tokyo Water Bureau is the main source for tap water for the city.
Babies in Tokyo should not be fed tap water long-term but can be bathed in it, officials said.
"Even if a baby drinks this water several times, it will not cause health troubles," said Hasumi Nishiya, an official at water safety division at the Tokyo Metropolitan government.
Experts also say iodine-131 dissipates quickly in the air, with half of it disappearing every eight days.
Special 
