Radiation in Northwest US Rainwater from Fukushima

Fukushima, High Levels of Radiation in US Rainwater Reports of high levels of I-131 and Z-133 have been recorded in the Northwest Usa Water . Most of the readings have been found in Rainwater. A Seattle nuclear watchdog group is accusing the federal government of failing to keep the public informed of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the US began monitoring radiation from Japan's leaking nuclear power plants. Most of the public attention went to the air monitoring which showed little or no radiation coming our way. But things were different on the rain water side. "The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard," said Gerry Pollet from Heart of America Northwest. He reviewed Iodine 131 numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency last spring. "Our government said no health levels, no health levels were exceeded.When in fact the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards," said Pollet. Elevated rain water samples were collected in Portland, Olympia and Boise, which had the highest. But EPA officials say the data was there for anyone to read on their website. A spokesman sent this statement, in part: "Since Iodine 131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, the levels seen in rainwater were expected to be relatively short in duration." State health agencies added that they constantly monitored public ...
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NHK World News ---- Japan will conduct thyroid tests on children outside Fukushima Prefecture, to determine whether last year's nuclear accident in the prefecture has anything to do with the discovery of lumps in the thyroid glands of one in three children in Fukushima Prefecture. The decision has been made by the Cabinet Office's team supporting people affected by the nuclear disaster. Fukushima Prefecture is conducting thyroid tests on all children 18 years old or younger. Radioactive iodine released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant can accumulate in the thyroid glands of children and raise their risk of developing cancer. The prefecture had conducted thyroid checks on 38000 children by the end of March. No-one was diagnosed with cancer, but lumps were found in 36 percent of the children. The prefecture explained that lumps can be found in healthy children, so no special measures are needed, but parents voiced strong concerns over the finding. Thyroid checks will now be conducted on 4500 children aged 18 years old or younger in 3 areas outside Fukushima Prefecture by the end of March. The data will be compared with that of Fukushima. The Cabinet Office says data will be collected in areas that are not affected by radioactive materials released from the crippled nuclear reactors. It says the move is designed not only to alleviate concerns, but also to detect possible effects of the nuclear accident on children's health, if any, as early as possible. Aug. 26 ...
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