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Doll shipments from Asia - are you worried about radioactive contamination...

Mar 31, 2011

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    1. I was wondering whether you were at all concerned over possible radioactive contamination of dolls shipped from the Far East. Yesterday, for instance, I read that Korea were systematically checking Nissan car parts imported from Japan in fear that radioactive traces may be present.

      Korea of course is quite close to Japan but I hope our countries take similar precautions too. The Health Protection Agency revealed that airborne radioactive iodine had already been discovered in UK, 5,500 miles from the Fukushima's plant. These traces have also been found in Europe (Switzerland, Germany and Iceland) and in the USA, but experts say the levels are 'minuscule' and pose no health risk.

      I hope it doesn't sound paranoid, but can we trust Customs to check shipments from Japan, Korea and China for radioactive particles? I wish I had a Geiger counter - now that I wish to buy one, they are sold out at the factory in Germany and those for sale on eBay command ludicrously high prices...

      What are your thoughts?
       
      #1 MorganLeFay, Mar 31, 2011
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    2. Unless the stuff is coming directly from Fukushima, there really isn't anything to worry about. The radioactive material hasn't spread all that far, and non-organic materials like resin aren't the greatest carriers for radiation.
       
      #2 cosplayshots, Mar 31, 2011
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    3. Not worried. Kyoto where Volks are is pretty distant from the stricken reactors. If you are in the UK you have more chance of copping it from a Trident submarine from HMS Navy.
       
      #3 arrex, Mar 31, 2011
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    4. Good question... The radioactive cloud has passed over many countries, including Europe as you said. So I think that yes, maybe parts, acessories and BJDs from East Asia may be contaminated, but whure the cloud passed, everything is contaminated. So, it's hard to answer...
      I think I won't buy directly from Japan for the moment and maybe East Asia (I wanted to have some Fairyland stuff T_T) until we will not safer informations for the moment. µ
      But I think at the same time after Chernobyl, we ate contaminated food in France and I'm still here, so I also relativized in relation to contamination in Korea : is that it's worse? I think not. So, I'll wait a bit...
       
      #4 Foxy Lady, Mar 31, 2011
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    5. Would the radioactive contamination be any worse than what is always in the atmosphere anyway? I'm not sure if I am too concerned or not; I hadn't really thought about it. The millions of Japanese are having to just get on with it, although they are recommended not to ingest certain things...
       
      #5 Absynthe, Mar 31, 2011
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    6. I'm not even slightly worried about that. Most Japanese dolls are made in Kyoto, which is hundreds of kilometres from Fukushima. Food from Japan is currently being checked before entering my country, and I don't see an OTC geiger counter outdoing the equipment the port of Vancouver has.
       
      #6 timid, Mar 31, 2011
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    7. You just have to trust your government to apply appropriate safety measures when allowing cargo from Japan to enter your country. Just like you have to trust your government to check for dangerous spiders, pests, chemicals, etc. etc. etc. when allowing cargo from all over the world to enter your country.
       
      #7 Muisje, Mar 31, 2011
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    8. The amount of radiation will be quite miniscule. I'm sure customs already have protection about it and I think I'm more concerned about the displaced people rather than the harmless radiation level my doll may have :(
       
      #8 Titania, Mar 31, 2011
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    9. Do you eat bananas? They're radioactive.

      If there were any traces of radioactivity on dolls from Japan, it would wouldn't be any more dangerous than the radioactivity you are exposed to every day through normal means. The real concerns in Fukushima there are land and water contamination because it is a farming area and people's livelihoods could be destroyed, not radioactive consumer goods.

      The Japanese economy is going to need all the help it can get and continuing to purchase Japanese goods is the best way the we can help.
       
      #9 Kim, Mar 31, 2011
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    10. Our dolls come via airplane, by and large; most of the problems with radiation that we might see in the future (and it would be relatively low amounts) would be from ships picking up radioactive seawater in their ballasts from travelling off the Eastern coast of Japan--this is a problem for their crews and people servicing the ships, and for customs looking for smuggled radiologicals, but not so much for the cargoes (that don't spend more than a couple of weeks on the ships, and not in direct contact with the bilgewater.) Depending on where you live, you may be more exposed from radon (a naturally occuring source, I happen to live in a "hot spot" so we have a radon extractor that runs 24/7.) and from airplane travel if you fly frequently.
       
      #10 fishcake, Mar 31, 2011
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    11. "The Japanese economy is going to need all the help it can get and continuing to purchase Japanese goods is the best way the we can help."

      Amen Kim!!!!!!!!!!!!!
       
      #11 roxygirl10, Mar 31, 2011
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    12. Wow . . . you aren't serious, are you? :sweat The "Far East" is an enormous area, and any meaningful radioactive contamination is occurring only within tens of km of the actual reactors that are in trouble. There is more (natural) radioactivity, as Kim already pointed out, in a banana than in any of the foodstuffs from Japan that have been exported to other countries in recent days. How any significant radioactive contamination could get into dolls or shipping materials produced hundreds of km away--or 1000+ km, in the case of China and Korea--is really impossible to imagine.

      If you're spending a lot of time watching/reading the ill-informed, scaremongering mass-media reports about the situation in Japan, could I suggest that you spend that time learning more about the actual science involved, instead? That will not only make you a better-informed person, but will limit the amount of unnecessary anxiety that you're inflicting on yourself.
       
      #12 Cynthia in FlintHills, Mar 31, 2011
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    13. This being a Doll Discussion Forum, I meant to ask whether you have any health concerns over possible contamination of dolls currently shipped from that part of the world, not food or air quality in general. I'm only human and given the circumstances I worry at the thought of possible health implications. Naturally, my heart goes to the Japanese people directly affected by this unfolding nuclear disaster in the aftermath of the tsunami that struck their country last month. This thread was never intended as a platform to launch an embargo on Asian BJDs! :o

      arrex I have faith in the Royal Navy. Thanks.:)

      Kim I happen not to like bananas, so I guess I'm safe.:lol:

      Cynthia in FlintHills I'm afraid I have no need for someone I don't even know to tell me how to put my spare time to good use. I take it that you are extremely well informed so, if this is the case, you may want to use this thread to kindly share your wisdom with us.;)
       
      #13 MorganLeFay, Mar 31, 2011
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    14. You've gotten a few good replies, so I'm going to lock this thread now, as it's not really appropriate for this forum, and it already seems that people are starting to get a bit heated on this topic. :)
       
      #14 Kiyakotari, Mar 31, 2011
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