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19 March 2011
Last updated at 11:39 ET
Britons in parts of Japan are being given iodine tablets as "a precaution" in case radiation levels increase from a quake-damaged nuclear power plant.
The Foreign Office said it was a "contingency measure" and people should only take the tablets if and when advised by the authorities.
Embassy staff were distributing tablets in Tokyo and Sendai on Saturday, and will be in Niigata on Sunday.
The earthquake and tsunami is known to have killed more than 7,300 people.
Fears have been rising over levels of radiation leaking from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant which was hit by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on 11 March.
The earthquake and tsunami it triggered crippled the plant's cooling systems, and some radiation has leaked.
The decision to distribute iodine tablets was revealed by the Foreign Office in its updated travel advice to British nationals who have decided to remain in Tokyo and areas north of the city.
Proof of British citizenship is required to collect the tablets, with priority being given to children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Stable iodine tablets are used to stop the body absorbing radioactive iodine and are effective up to six hours after exposure to radiation.
Food contamination The Foreign Office advice on what action to take if radiation increases in "any significant way" includes information on sheltering indoors and how to decontaminate after going outside.
With the Japanese government's exclusion zone of 30km (20 miles) around the plant, the statement added: "A significant increase in the radiation levels in Tokyo, well outside the exclusion zone, would only occur in a worst-case scenario."
Food products from the Fukushima prefecture have been banned from sale after radioactive contamination was found in milk and spinach.
Traces of radioactive iodine have also been found in tapwater in Tokyo and five other prefectures, officials said on Saturday.
The traces are within government safety limits, but usual tests show no iodine, the AP news agency reported.
Coach departure Meanwhile, a final coach for British nationals and their dependents will depart Sendai for Tokyo on Sunday, departing at 1000 local time (0100 GMT).
Some 17,000 Britons are believed to have been in Japan when the earthquake struck but there have not yet been any reports of British casualties. The number of British citizens remaining in the country is not known.
On Friday, the National Pharmacy Association said demand for iodine in the UK had soared since the nuclear crisis in Japan.
It said that more than 100 pharmacists have called to seek advice on dealing with customers wanting the drug.
The Health Protection Agency states there is no radiation risk in the UK.
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The Foreign Office said it was a "contingency measure" and people should only take the tablets if and when advised by the authorities.
Embassy staff were distributing tablets in Tokyo and Sendai on Saturday, and will be in Niigata on Sunday.
The earthquake and tsunami is known to have killed more than 7,300 people.
Fears have been rising over levels of radiation leaking from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant which was hit by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on 11 March.
The earthquake and tsunami it triggered crippled the plant's cooling systems, and some radiation has leaked.
The decision to distribute iodine tablets was revealed by the Foreign Office in its updated travel advice to British nationals who have decided to remain in Tokyo and areas north of the city.
Proof of British citizenship is required to collect the tablets, with priority being given to children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Stable iodine tablets are used to stop the body absorbing radioactive iodine and are effective up to six hours after exposure to radiation.
Food contamination The Foreign Office advice on what action to take if radiation increases in "any significant way" includes information on sheltering indoors and how to decontaminate after going outside.
With the Japanese government's exclusion zone of 30km (20 miles) around the plant, the statement added: "A significant increase in the radiation levels in Tokyo, well outside the exclusion zone, would only occur in a worst-case scenario."
Food products from the Fukushima prefecture have been banned from sale after radioactive contamination was found in milk and spinach.
Traces of radioactive iodine have also been found in tapwater in Tokyo and five other prefectures, officials said on Saturday.
The traces are within government safety limits, but usual tests show no iodine, the AP news agency reported.
Coach departure Meanwhile, a final coach for British nationals and their dependents will depart Sendai for Tokyo on Sunday, departing at 1000 local time (0100 GMT).
Some 17,000 Britons are believed to have been in Japan when the earthquake struck but there have not yet been any reports of British casualties. The number of British citizens remaining in the country is not known.
On Friday, the National Pharmacy Association said demand for iodine in the UK had soared since the nuclear crisis in Japan.
It said that more than 100 pharmacists have called to seek advice on dealing with customers wanting the drug.
The Health Protection Agency states there is no radiation risk in the UK.
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