"BBC FLASHNEWS: Japan govt confirms radiation leak" Text Message is a Hoax!

Today around 10:AM GMT+8, I began receiving a circulated message with the following content:

BBC FLASHNEWS: Japan govt confirms radiation leak at fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. Remain indoors first 24hr at starting 4pm 2day.

If you're a Filipino living here in the Philippines, you probably got this too. You've also sent this to all your contacts perhaps. Who else won't be concerned with this? It quite disturbed me really, but I got my doubts. I don't think I should believe it just because it has BBC stamped at the first line. But then it could probably happen.

So I Googled a little in the hopes that the whole thing is just a hoax some anti-nuke activist or introverted paranoid crackpot with a cellphone cooked up. I used the first sentence in the SMS message as keywords and I ended up with this article. If you're too lazy to click, here's an excerpt:

From www.bloggedphilippines.com

- Although there has been two explosions in the Fukushima nuclear plant and a possible meltdown might occur, there has been no radiation leak yet that can reach other countries. In fact, only those inside the 12 mile radius from the plant are susceptible to current partial radiation leakage.
See also the report from BBC:

Experts say a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl in the 1980s is highly unlikely because the reactors are built to a much higher standard and have much more rigorous safety measures.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12729138

- The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) issued a statement saying that radiation levels in the Philippine environment are all normal.
Here's the actual copy of their statement:

The DOST-PNRI routinely undertakes daily radioactivity monitoring in the environment. Based on DOST-PNRI monitoring, there has been no increase in the levels of radioactivity since the time of the Fukushima event.

A plume trajectory study from the Fukushima site by the World Meteorological Organization based in Melbourne, Australia showed that the plume from the site of the incident will not pass the Philippine territory as of March 14, 2011.

Source: http://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php

DOST advised the public not to believe this hoax.

Bingo! NOT TRUE as the article boldly proclaims and I'm pretty glad it isn't. Like everyone else, I ain't that ready for a few rads and cancer cells. Now concerning that fraudulent text message, I'll rephrase that blogger's statements: neither believe nor forward it as it will just cause some panic and confusion.

Well, some folks got bored.


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