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Japan scrambled to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where reactor cooling systems failed after a massive earthquake, as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents. Tokyo Electric Power, which runs the plants, said it had released some radioactive vapour into the atmosphere at one plant to relieve building reactor pressure, but said the move posed no health risks. (credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM (CBS) — Trace amounts of radioactive elements consistent with the earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant in Japan were detected by monitors in Anaheim and Riverside, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday.
But they also warned the “miniscule amounts” are not harmful and “pose no health concern.”
Similar trace amounts of radioactive iodine, cesium and tellurium were also detected by monitors in San Francisco and Seattle. The material was detected Friday and analyzed over the weekend, according to the EPA.
“The radiation levels detected on the filters from California and Washington monitors are hundreds of thousands to millions of times below levels of concern,” according to an EPA statement.
The agency noted that on a typical day, Americans receive doses of radiation from rocks, bricks and the sun that are 100,000 times higher than what has been detected in material coming from Japan.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
