Radiation detectors installed at airport

The Korean government installed two radiation-detecting gates at Incheon International Airport on Thursday amid the widening nuclear crisis in earthquake-hit Japan.

According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, travelers coming from Japan, if they want, are to pass between two poles after immigration checks.

The detector, which had already been used during the G20 Seoul summit in November, carries out a thorough inspection and is capable of detecting even small amounts of radiation, officials said.

In the first day of inspection, passengers from Japan, most of them wearing white protection masks, seemed nervous for the less than 10 seconds it takes to wait for the detector to indicate that radiation levels are normal.

“I considering getting tested in Korea after hearing that the radiation level in the Yamagata Prefecture (which is adjacent to the Miyagi region) was higher than other regions,” said Kang Min-ah, a Korean living in Japan.

“I was more worried because I’m pregnant. I feel relieved now,” she said after being confirmed OK by the detector.

When an abnormal levels of radiation is detected, the passenger is to be tested with a separate machine for further inspection. No suspected cases of contamination were found as of Thursday morning.

The government plans to install more detector gates at the Gimhae International Airport that frequent fliers between Korea and Japan prefer to use.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)