Paris (Platts)--10Sep2008

All measurements around the Institute for Radio-Elements, or IRE,
facility in Fleurus, Belgium are normal, with radioactivity content well below
levels considered harmless by the World Health Organization, or WHO, the
Federal Agency for Nuclear Control, or FANC, said in an information notice
September 10. The IRE facility, which produces radioisotopes, has been under
surveillance since an August 23 accidental release of iodine-131 and federal
authorities' recommendations August 28 to local residents to restrict
consumption of certain foodstuffs. FANC said samples of locally grown garden
vegetables and fruit were below the 100 becquerel per kilogram level
recommended by WHO for consumption by a 5-year-old child. It also said milk
samples, at 15 Bq/kg and 17 Bq/kg, were well below the 500 Bq/kg level at
which milk can no longer be sold in the EU market. Information published on
FANC's web site showed that some grass samples from around the Institute of
Radio-Elements had exceeded 5,000 Bq/kg on August 27, but by September 4 grass
samples were below 2,000 Bq/kg. FANC's web site is at www.fanc.be.