SEOUL, April 8 (UPI) -- South Korea says it is testing seawater and ocean life collected in the surrounding waters for radiation as neighboring Japan deals with its nuclear crisis.
A state marine research center has collected the samples since late March and two state research institutes, the Korea Basic Science Institute and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, have been checking them for radioactive materials such as as iodine and cesium, Yonhap News Agency reported Friday.
The interim results will be released Monday, Kim Chang-kyung of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.
Any possible fallout from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant would be too small to affect the nation's air and water, Kim said, and exposure to current levels of radiation would be insignificant.
"In terms of the level of radiation in the nation, there is no risk to daily life," Kim said.
South Korea has increased radiation monitoring across the country, but authorities said radiation levels remain normal.
"We are currently operating 59 radiation monitoring centers across the nation, but no problems have been discovered," Parliamentary Rep. Kim Moo-sung said.
Meanwhile, China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee said minimal amounts of radioactive material from the Japanese plant continued to be found in most Chinese regions, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
At the levels detected the materials pose no threat to public health or to the environment, a statement by the committee said Friday.
