Manila school cancels classes amid radiation scare

President Dante Guevarra of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines says the decision on Monday to send home thousands of students in Manila was reached after the school was swamped by calls from worried parents.

Filipino scientists at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute use a SAM portable Gamma Spectrometer to measure the gamma radiation levels in the atmosphere near their reactor research facility (background) at suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, on Monday. Photo: AP.

A Philippine university has cancelled classes after rumours spread through cell phone messages of a radiation leak from Japan’s earthquake—stricken nuclear plants reaching the country.

President Dante Guevarra of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines says the decision on Monday to send home thousands of students in Manila was reached after the school was swamped by calls from worried parents.

Science Secretary Mario Montejo dismissed such fears saying the chances of radiation reaching the Philippines from Japan is “zero.”

Mr. Guevarra also said he did not believe the rumours but wanted to ease the parents’ concerns anyway.