A memo obtained by Xpress indicates that local utilities Progress Energy and Duke Energy have detected low-level radiation in the air at regional nuclear plants, including North Carolina. "So far, the amounts of radiation detected in samples by the two utility companies are minuscule, barely above natural background levels, and are not expected to pose a threat to public safety," according to a Raleigh News&Observer report by John Murawski:
Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/29/1089238/radiation-tests-now-done-daily.html#ixzz1HzzFPt00Read the full article
North Carolina authorities have stepped up statewide monitoring of radioactive fallout in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that damaged nuclear reactors in Japan this month.
Officials last weekend began taking daily measurements of radioactivity in air, water, vegetation and milk samples in downtown Raleigh and throughout the state. Normally the routine air sampling is done once a month and less often for other sources. The state also checks for radiation in the air at nuclear sites once a week.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has picked up faint amounts of radiation from the Japanese nuclear incident in some states, including California and Alabama, but none in North Carolina, agency spokeswoman Davina Marraccini said.
On Friday, however, Duke Energy and Progress Energy reported increased radiation levels in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida as part of their routine air sampling. That prompted state officials to increase their own monitoring. They expect to receive their first lab results this week.
Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/29/1089238/radiation-tests-now-done-daily.html#ixzz1HzzFPt00Read the full article
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The key part of the article is "...the amounts of iodine-131 that Duke Energy detected are so small they barely register on ultra-sensitive instruments. A person would have to breathe in those trace amounts of iodine-131 for 2,000 years to equal the amount of radiation from one X-ray, Cox said."
By Thunder Pig
03/29/2011
Understanding Radiation
http://is.gd/xg6eQb
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By timothypeck
03/29/2011