Air monitoring stations, Washington State Department of Health, April 4, 2011:
…The chart shows radiations measures known as “gross beta,” a term that refers to all radioactive materials that emit beta radiation. Gross beta measurements are used because they give us the fastest indication of any change in radiation levels. They’re measured in “counts per minute.” …
Read the report here.
Notice the average daily reading for Richland, WA on March 31. (Richland was one of just two cities in the U.S. where the E.P.A. found radioactive particles in drinking water)
RICHLAND — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found radiation in Richland tap water. Only two spots in the whole country where it was found: Richland and Boise. Should you be worried? No scare tactics here, KEPR is digging for facts.
It’s a frightening headline at face value: knowing contamination from Japan has finally made its way here. Action News looks at the reality behind the radiation results.
On the surface it sounds bad, of the 50 cities in the country the feds tested, only two popped up with trace amounts of radiation in drinking water and one of those is Richland.
But how much radiation are we actually talking about? KEPR discovered one of the foremost radiation specialists in the nation lives in the Tri-Cities.
“0.23 picocuries per liter doesn’t scare me very much. Because it is so very, very little,” said Antone Brooks.
Brooks knows what he’s talking about, he’s devoted his life to finding out how nuclear fallout spreads.
The EPA says a baby would have to drink 7,000 liters to get a dose of radiation equal to what we’re exposed to in the world every day.
So why did Richland test positive for Iodine-131? KEPR asked the EPA speaking with headquarters through a media conference call.
A spokesperson says they are looking at weather patterns as a possibility of why it turned up in Boise and Richland.
Video Link.
http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/119295429.html?video=pop&t=a
http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/119295429.html
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