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While no harmful levels of radiation are presently expected to reach the United States as a result of the Fukushima reactor crisis, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) RadNet System has detected very small increases in radiation levels since the March 11th earthquake.
The EPA reassures, however:
To-date, levels recorded at this monitor have been thousands of times below any conservative level of concern.
Still, I know many of my readers possess a good measure of scientific curiosity and would find it of interest to follow radiation monitors around the nation.
The EPA, fortunately, has made that information easily available.
By visiting the RadNet Site you can click on the map (pictured above) and get real-time readout of current and recently detected radiation readings from scores of locations around the nation.
The EPA is also posting Daily Summaries on the radiation impact on the United States, along with regular statements.
The latest statement (March 27th) reads:
As a result of the incident with the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, several EPA air monitors have detected very low levels of radioactive material in the United States consistent with estimates from the damaged nuclear reactors. These detections were expected and the levels detected are far below levels of public-health concern.
Elevated levels of radioactive material in rainwater have been expected as a result of the nuclear incident after the events in Japan since radiation is known to travel in the atmosphere. There have been reports received that the states of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have seen elevated levels of radiation in recent precipitation events. EPA is reviewing this data – however, in both cases these are levels above the normal background levels historically reported in these areas.
While short-term elevations such as these do not raise public health concerns – and the levels seen in rainwater are expected to be relatively short in duration – the U.S. EPA has taken steps to increase the level of nationwide monitoring of precipitation, drinking water, and other potential exposure routes to continue to verify that.
EPA’s only recommendation to state and local governments is to continue to coordinate closely with EPA, CDC and FDA – EPA will continue to communicate our nationwide sampling results as they come in.
Earlier EPA Updates
- March 22, 2011 - Statement on Recent Findings in West Coast States and Hawaii
- March 18, 2011 - JOINT EPA/DOE STATEMENT: Radiation Monitors Confirm That No Radiation Levels of Concern Have Reached the United States
- March 15, 2011 - EPA Statement on Air Monitoring Effort
You’ll also find an informative FAQ page with information relating to the Fukushima radiation and the EPA’s monitoring network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated on Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 2:54:45 PM.
This page provides answers to questions EPA has received about the current nuclear power plant situation in Japan
An interesting website, well worth exploring.
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