Many areas in the province have seen a rush to buy salt, with some merchants taking the opportunity to inflate prices. The provincial government's emergency office, the provincial salt bureau, and the provincial price bureau have all stated that the province will ensure an uninterrupted supply of iodized salt. Merchants who inflate salt prices will face severe punishment.
Starting at noon yesterday, our hotline 85055555 received continuous reports that many supermarkets and stores had been stripped bare of salt. Reports came from Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Taizhou, and other places. Some even reported that some stores were inflating prices, causing unnecessary panic among citizens.
In response, multiple departments including the provincial government's emergency office, the provincial salt bureau, and the provincial price bureau stated in interviews: Currently, pollutants from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion have not affected our province. Citizens don't need to rush to buy salt or feel panicked. Our province has an ample supply of salt, and relevant departments will severely punish merchants who inflate prices.
The director of the provincial government's emergency office, Chen Rong, said that today there would be a special meeting convened with the provincial salt bureau, the provincial price bureau, the provincial industry and commerce bureau, and other relevant departments to study and formulate response measures. He reminded the general public that if necessary, the government would distribute salt. Please do not blindly purchase or even hoard it.
Many people followed the trend and rushed to buy salt. Yesterday, Mr. Zhou from Xiaoshan called: "There was a large-scale rush to buy salt in Chengxiang Town and Changshan in Xiaoshan. All the salt in the supermarket was sold out. Originally priced at 1 yuan per pack, it is now selling for 2 yuan."
By evening, Mr. Chen from Hangzhou also called the hotline saying that not only was the salt completely sold out, but soy sauce was also being snapped up.
Yesterday afternoon, reporters visited 10 supermarkets, convenience stores, and small shops, and did not see any salt.
Walking into Carrefour, asking the staff: "Where are the salts?" The staff directly replied, "All sold out. Not just you guys, I work here and couldn't even grab any."
Then, reporters also visited nine stores including Metro on Qingchun Road, Daily Convenience Store on Fengqi Road, Metro on Dashu Road, Kedi Convenience Store at the entrance of Gnyuan Community, etc., but none of them had salt.
The owner of a small store inside Gnyuan Community said that around 5 p.m., in just ten minutes, five boxes of salt were sold.
Finally, a staff member from the Metro Supermarket on Dashu Road comforted the reporter by saying: "Don't worry, the salt will be restocked in two days."
Our province can ensure the market supply of salt.
After the abnormal fluctuation in salt supply, the Provincial Salt Affairs Administration and the Provincial Salt Industry Group immediately launched an emergency plan.
According to the Provincial Salt Affairs Administration, the monthly consumption of salt in the province is 20,000 tons, and the monthly production and supply capacity of salt in the whole province exceeds 40,000 tons.
"The current inventory is sufficient, with more than 40,000 tons of commercial inventory of small packaged iodized salt in the province. Moreover, the national salt production is oversupplied, and our province is fully capable of ensuring the market supply of salt," said a relevant person in charge.
At the same time, the Provincial Salt Affairs Administration also stated that salt products are state-priced goods, and all levels of salt companies will strictly implement national price policies. Salt prices will not rise, and the public is urged to eliminate panic and rationally purchase without blindly following the trend to rush buy.
Currently, the Provincial Salt Affairs Administration implements 24-hour delivery services, urgently allocating salt to various retail points to ensure stable supplies of small packaged iodized salt, avoiding stockouts and ensuring availability.
Meanwhile, the five national salt定点production enterprises within the province are working overtime to produce small packaged salt, fully capable of ensuring market supply.
The Provincial Salt Affairs Administration finally stated that they will strengthen the market supervision of salt, closely monitor market dynamics, and strictly enforce national salt price policies. They will severely crack down on illegal acts such as stockpiling and inflating salt prices.
If necessary, the government will distribute salt.
Subsequently, the reporter also contacted the Provincial Price Bureau. Director Xu of the Monitoring and Early Warning Division said: "We have made arrangements. Law enforcement officers will increase patrols on supermarkets, farmers' markets, including small shops. Once we find any illegal behavior of taking advantage of the situation to hoard and inflate prices, we will not hesitate. We will deal with and expose every case we find, ensuring the stability and order of the market."
In addition, the reporter also interviewed Director Chen Rong from the Provincial Government Emergency Office.
Director Chen said: "Pollutants from the Japanese nuclear power plant explosion have not affected our province. According to meteorological forecasts, the current wind direction is relatively safe for us. However, this kind of preventive awareness among the masses is understandable."
Additionally, the reporter learned from the Provincial Salt Industry Company that there are two types of salt in the Zhejiang market: sea salt and rock salt. Rock salt is all extracted from three meters underground and will not be contaminated.
For those who worry about nearshore salt production areas being contaminated by nuclear pollution, Secretary Xia Yuanchu of the Zhejiang Nuclear Society said that the scope of Japan's nuclear pollution is limited, and the possibility of it flowing to China's nearshore salt production areas is extremely low.
Chen Rong also expressed that next, the Provincial Government Emergency Office will convene relevant departments such as the Provincial Salt Affairs Bureau, the Provincial Price Bureau, and the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce for research. "There will be an urgent meeting tomorrow to take corresponding measures to ensure the supply of salt."
"Please rest assured, do not rush to buy salt, and there is no need to panic. If it is really necessary, the government will distribute salt to the public," Director Chen finally said.
□Intern Liu Lu
Reporter Bao Dunyuan Zhang Gaohang / Text
Hu Yuan Yong Gao Yu / Photography
Our province has opened a 96301 nuclear and radiation protection science popularization hotline.
Iodine tablets should be taken under professional guidance.
Blindly over-consuming iodized salt is harmful.
To further understand the knowledge related to nuclear and radiation accident protection, the health departments at all levels of our province have opened a 96301 science popularization publicity hotline starting today.
One, in what circumstances should iodine tablets (potassium iodide) be taken?
When there is relatively serious nuclear contamination, iodine tablets should be taken systematically in a certain amount over a certain period of time.
The main component of iodine tablets is potassium iodide compounds, which can block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the human thyroid gland, allowing it to be quickly expelled from the body.
However, iodine tablets can only block the absorption of radioactive iodine and have no effect on other radioactive substances. Therefore, iodine tablet intake should be combined with other protective measures.
Monitoring results in our province show no radioactive contamination, so there is currently no need to take iodine tablets. Taking iodine tablets should be done under unified arrangements by the government and under professional guidance.
Two, can eating more iodized salt achieve the same effect as taking iodine tablets?
Iodized salt and iodine tablets are different. The iodine content in iodized salt is relatively low and cannot prevent radioactive iodine. Blindly over-consuming iodized salt without considering actual conditions is harmful to the body.
Three, how to carry out self-protection?
Citizens should avoid panic and promptly listen to radio and television broadcasts to grasp correct information. In an emergency state, some emergency protective measures can be taken, such as seeking shelter, evacuation, closing windows and ventilation systems, wearing masks when going out, covering mouth and nose with dry or wet towels, and minimizing skin exposure as much as possible. The best method for people suspected of being exposed to radioactive contamination is to take a shower.
When a major event involving a large amount of radioactive material released into the atmosphere occurs, sheltering measures should be taken. When sheltering, windows and ventilation systems should be closed to reduce inhalation and external irradiation of radioactive materials. Sheltering can reduce the inhalation dose of personnel inside buildings by about half. □Correspondent Sun Wei Reporter Huang Miaojun
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