Impossible to Lift Evacuation Order in Weeks: Edano

Tokyo, April 1 (Jiji Press)--It is impossible for Japan to lift within weeks its evacuation order issued to residents near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday.
The current situation does not allow the government to show any concrete timeframe for lifting the order and the evacuation will be in place for a certain long period of time, the top government spokesman said at a news conference after excessively high levels of radioactive material was detected in groundwater at the nuclear plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> said Thursday that up to 430 becquerels of iodine-131 per cubic centimeter was detected in groundwater collected Wednesday morning at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
Edano said the company is carrying out thorough examinations. Effects of radioactive material releases on the sea and the vicinity of the plant have to be strictly monitored, he said.
Because radioactive cesium exceeding the government safety limit was detected Thursday in beef produced in a village in the prefecture, Edano said the government will carry out close examinations, noting that consuming such meat for a long time may be harmful to health.
But he emphasized no contaminated meat is being distributed and that meat in the market is safe.