More Fukushima Vegetables Found over Radioactive Safety Standards

The Japanese government on Wednesday urged people not to eat 11 types of vegetable grown near the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeast Japan after levels of radioactivity in the produces were found to have far exceeded legal limits.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said consumers should avoid eating potentially contaminated vegetables grown near the faltering power plant, including broccoli, spinach, cabbage and cauliflower.

The advisory from the ministry came following consultations with the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan.

The ministry said the vegetables should not be consumed for the time being and noted that the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations has halted shipments of potentially contaminated produce as of Monday.

Also on Wednesday, radioactive iodine in tap water at a purification plant in Tokyo has exceeded the limits for infants, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government.

The authorities warned that the water should not be given to infants.

The radiation was found at a time when the authorities were still fixing the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crippled by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Workers have been pulled out after black smoke is seen rising from the No. 3 reactor at troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Japan, the operator of the utility said Wednesday afternoon.

The officials with the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said workers from the plant's No. 3 and No. 4 reactors have been evacuated for safety concerns.

The cause of the smoke is not yet known.

The Japanese government in provisional estimations said that the economic cost of the March 11 devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami on the seven most affected prefectures in the northeast of Japan could total up to US$309 billion.

The Cabinet Office said that, without including the possible cost of planned power outages, the cost of rebuilding crippled infrastructures, businesses and housing could push the nation's GDP 0.5 percent lower and cost between US$198 and US$309.

"We provided the number based on data available so far, and cannot help having certain ranges in our estimate," economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano told reporters.