Officials say radiation levels not harmful

Recent rainy weather in the Flathead has led to concerns by some residents that radioactive particles escaping from damaged nuclear reactors in Japan could be deposited here and cause health risks.

Four of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors were crippled by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred on March 11. Tokyo Electric Power Co., has been trying to contain the radiation, and residents within 12 miles of the nuclear power plant have been evacuated.

Last week, low levels of radiation were detected in milk in Washington and California, prompting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to announce it was increasing its monitoring of radiation in milk, rain and drinking water. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, however, said the levels found were far too low to pose any risk to humans and urged consumers not to worry.

The EPA monitors air quality for radiation through its RadNet system. Two RadNet stations are in Montana, in Helena and Billings. Elevated levels of radioactive material in rainwater have been reported in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

According to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, department staff continue to monitor the situation, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer has kept in touch with the Idaho National Lab, which monitors environmental radioactivity for the EPA.

DPHHS cites the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as saying that U.S. territories are “not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.”

“Japan is thousands of miles from our state, and if radioactivity from the reactors there is released to the upper atmosphere, it would be thinned out by the winds before it could reach us,” the DPHHS Web site states. “We could see a very small increase in radiation levels — well below levels that would be a health concern.”

DPHHS went on to explain that the state does not stockpile potassium iodide, a supplement people could take to protect against radioactive iodine from the atmosphere accumulating in the thyroid gland.

The federal government does stockpile potassium iodide for an emergency, but “the events in Japan do not indicate a need for anyone in Montana to take protective action like using (potassium iodide),” the DPHHS Web site states. The Centers for Disease Control does not recommend that people in the U.S. take potassium iodide supplements.

The FDA says the Japanese nuclear crisis so far poses no risk to the U.S. food supply. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says no Japanese beef has been exported to the U.S. for nearly a year, and Japan is not eligible to export poultry or processed egg products to the U.S.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is also monitoring the crisis in Japan. All inbound cargo and travelers from Japan, along with their baggage, are screened for radiological materials. The agency also monitors radiation at international mail facilities.

For more information, visit online at www.dphhs.mt.gov or www.usa.gov/Japan2011.shtml.