The west coast of the U.S. has been watching the nuclear disaster in Japan unfold with leery eyes, despite reassurances from scientists that what radiation does reach our shores will be far below levels that affect human beings. New reports coming out of Washington and California that trace amounts of radiation have been found in milk produced in those states aren’t making anyone feel better.
The EPA is stepping up its efforts to monitor American radiation levels, but that doesn’t mean, according to experts, that we should be worried. Or at least, that we should be any more worried than we already are. According to both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, the contaminated milk samples contained radioactive particles at concentrations 5,000 times lower than the limit that the FDA has deemed safe for human consumption. According to FDA senior scientist Patricia Hansen these levels are “minuscule” compared to what we face every day. Even more reassuring, the particles found in the samples come from an isotope known as radioactive iodine, or iodine-131, which has a relatively short lifespan.
Food imports from Japan, which have never been a big factor in American diets, are being closely monitored and imports from the area surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have been banned all together. Lots of food sources, at this point, have some radioactivity apparently, no matter where they come from. Banana’s for instance, contain radioactive potassium. Who knew?
The firm consensus among scientists is that American’s don’t need to worry about being exposed to radiation from the Japan disaster. Whether we need to worry about all the radiation we expose ourselves to on a daily basis is another question, but, given how hard it is to avoid that radiation, natural or otherwise, probably not one that should keep you up at night.
