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Oregon Health Authority (OHA) News Release: Radiation is Being Measured by Oregon State Monitors
Oregon Health Authority (OHA) News Release: Scant radiation from Japan measured by Oregon state monitors – Radiation monitoring within expected levels – no health risk to Oregonians
Oregon radiation monitors continue to confirm that no radiation levels of concern have reached the United States.
Oregon Public Health officials studying an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air monitor in Portland have detected minuscule levels of iodine 131, which is radiation connected with Japan’s nuclear emergency. Low levels of iodine 131 have been expected on the West Coast as a result of events in Japan. This more detailed analysis confirms there continues to be no health risk to people in Oregon. The tiny amounts of radioactive iodine are far lower than levels that would be a health concern. “Our finding is consistent with findings in Washington and California. We have expected to find trace amounts of the isotopes released from the Japanese plant. There is no health risk,” says Gail Shibley, administrator of the Office of Environmental Public Health, Oregon Public Health Division.
These results are consistent with findings reported by federal, California, Washington and Canadian partners. Because of the nearly 5,000-mile distance from Japan combined with air diffusion, radiation reaching our state is so diluted that there is no health risk here, making protective action unnecessary.
The EPA reports that in a typical day, Americans receive doses of radiation from natural sources such as rocks, bricks and the sun that are about 100,000 times higher than what has been detected coming from Japan. For example, the levels coming from Japan are 100,000 times lower than what you get from taking a roundtrip international flight.
Radiation from the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan is not a health risk in Oregon. People can now see daily radiation levels from the EPA monitoring sites in Oregon on the Oregon Public Health website. “We do not expect any reading above normal. This will be a way for people to see the levels on a day-to-day basis,” says Gail Shibley, administrator of the Office of Environmental Public Health, Oregon Public Health Division. It is important to note that there is naturally occurring radiation in our environment at all times, which will be reflected in the monitoring station data. Updated radiation levels will be posted daily on the Public Health website: http://public.health.oregon.gov/Preparedness/CurrentHazards/Pages/DailyAirMonitoring.aspx.
Shibley encourages people with questions about radiation resulting from the Japan disaster to visit the Public Health preparedness website at http:/public.health.oregon.gov/preparedness/currenthazards/pages/index.aspx or call the Radiation Information Hotline at 1-877-290-6767 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The state is prepared to respond to emergencies as they arise, regularly training local agencies and community partners. As part of the continuing monitoring of the Japanese disaster, the Oregon Public Health Division Agency Operations Center is now in limited activation.
For information on radiation levels in Washington State, visit Washington’s monitoring website at www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/japan/monitor/htm.