Japan criticized for radiation policy

TOKYO, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A cancer center chief said Japan's method of designating individual homes as radioactive due to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster is faulty.

Director Masamichi Nishio of the National Hospital Organization Hokkaido said designating hot spots on a house-by-house basis "is not reasonable" since radiation levels are influenced by living conditions, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Wednesday.

"As the aim of designation is to recommend evacuation, all households living in an area where average radiation levels are high should be designated for evacuation," Nishio said.

One resident of Fukushima Prefecture, Morio Onami, said his family was told to evacuate their home because of high radiation while his son's house next door was found to be okay.

The decision to designate a house as a hot spot is based on radiation levels measured at entrances and in the middle of gardens.

However, the threshold can differ depending on what month the measurements were taken, experts said.