US finds tiny amount of radiation in milk
31 Mar 2011 00:14
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - A trace amount of radioactive iodine, well below levels of public health concerns, has been detected in milk from the state of Washington as the U.S. monitors radiation levels amid the nuclear crisis in Japan, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday.
"These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children," the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency said in a joint statement.
Testing found 0.8 pCi/L of iodine-131, a radioactive form of iodine, in the milk sample.
Although there are naturally occurring levels of radiation in milk, such an isotope is not normally found in milk, but the agencies stressed it was 5,000 times lower than the FDA's standard, known as the "defined intervention level."
"These findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day," FDA scientist Patricia Hansen said in a statement.
The EPA said it has increased radiation monitoring in U.S. milk, precipitation and drinking water in response to radiation leaks at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was damaged by the huge tsunami that was followed by the massive 9.0 quake on March 11.
The agencies said Iodine-131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, and the level detected in milk and milk products was therefore expected to drop relatively quickly.
Contaminated milk is a worry after a nuclear accident because toxic levels of radioactive iodine can get into rainwater and feed that is ingested by cows and taken up in their milk. Contaminated milk was one of the biggest causes of thyroid cancers after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl because people near the plant kept drinking milk from local cows.
Iodine-131 is a threat to human health because it goes immediately to the thyroid gland, where it can cause cancer. Experts say thyroid cancer is generally considered non-fatal because treatments are so effective. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Washington and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Editing by Sandra Maler)
Alabama lab is 1st defense for radiation from Japan
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- At a government laboratory in Alabama, workers in blue coats unload envelopes packed with small filters that trapped air particles in Hawaii, Alaska and elsewhere. The discs are placed in lead-lined, barrel-like devices for testing to make sure no traces of radioactive materials have wafted across the Pacific Ocean from Japan.
So far, the sea breeze in places like Honolulu is no more dangerous than the pollen-laden air of the Deep South, according to officials. Still, the 60 or so workers in the 72,000-square-foot building will be the first to know if the Japanese disaster spreads harmful amounts of radiation to the U.S. Minute amounts of radiation from Japan's reactor have spread as far as the U.S. East Coast, though officials say it's less harmful than the radiation people are exposed to on a routine basis.
Using super-sensitive equipment and computers linked to West Coast monitors by satellite connections that download new air-quality data each hour, experts hunched over monitors are scouring the atmosphere for any radioactive materials that could pose a threat to U.S. public health. There's always some radiation in the environment - the testers are looking for abnormally high amounts.
Located on an annex of Maxwell Air Force base just a few miles from Alabama's white-domed Capitol, the Environmental Protection Agency's National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory has added a few extra contract workers because of the threat from Japan, officials say. And, as a precaution, it plans an early start to an annual program that tests milk for traces of radiation.
"I don't expect to see anything, but we'll have the data if we're asked for it," lab director Ronald G. Fraass said.
An electric plant with six nuclear reactors on Japan's northeast shore was badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck March 11, prompting mass evacuations as the plant spewed radiation into the environment. Since then in Japan, radiation has been found in raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables grown near the complex.
President Barack Obama, other leaders and scientists have tried to assure Americans that radiation from the Japanese disaster doesn't pose a threat to the United States, but a hotline set up by health officials in California still was flooded with more than 1,000 calls about radiation.
And across the country, people have been ordering potassium iodide. The pills protect the thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine, but they protect no other body parts nor against any other radioactive elements. Health officials have said there is no need to stock up on the pills.
The EPA's monitoring system is aimed at providing another layer of assurance.
Long before the Japanese quake became a nuclear scare, EPA had a network of 124 monitoring stations scattered nationwide from California to Maine that were deployed mostly because of the threat of nuclear terrorism after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The boxlike devices have bell-shaped inlets that constantly pull in air and test it for radiation. Data from those sites is sent by satellite links to the Alabama laboratory, where technicians monitor it constantly on computers for any unusual spikes.
After the earthquake, Fraass said, the agency added seven additional monitors in Hawaii, Alaska, Saipan and Guam as a first line of defense to detect any dangerous radiation moving across the Pacific Ocean. Expected to detect radiation amounts as little as a single hundredth of the government's level of concern, the fixed monitors actually are detecting far smaller amounts, he said.
"Our system in the field is quite adequate to be able to see anything that would be of concern to the public," Fraass said.
Aside from the digital monitoring, the detection devices are outfitted with circular white fiber filters that are bombarded with air pulled in from the environment. Those filters are removed twice weekly and sent by regular mail to the lab in Montgomery. The filters are small and the amount of radiation they contain poses no health risk to postal workers, Fraass said.
None of the tests run since the Japanese earthquake has detected dangerous amounts of radiation, he said. And the stepped-up monitoring is expected to continue until the last traces of radioactivity linked to the Japanese crisis are gone.
"Right now we're only seeing a few that would trigger even a tenth of the level we normally count at, so in effect we're not seeing anything that should be any concern for the American people," Fraass said.
Potassium iodide can be dangerous if taken incorrectly
 People should not take potassium iodide unnecessarily. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) |
Potassium iodide supplements are flying off drug-store shelves in the United States, according to a number of reports. There are two reasons why this is not a good thing. One, experts have repeatedly reassured Americans that any radiation from the leaking nuclear reactors in Japan will not be a threat in this country. The radiation will dissipate as it traverses the Pacific Ocean. Buying it is a waste of money.
Two, taking potassium iodide tablets without just cause can be risky for some people, health experts warned Wednesday.
"All of the predictions are that there will not be enough radiation reaching Hawaii or the West Coast to be of any concern, said Dr. Leonard Wartofsky, an endocrinologist at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., and a past president of the Endocrine Society. "Although in Japan, especially among those living very close to the reactor, there is major exposure and there is reason to take iodide tablets or solution."
Potassium iodide is not recommended until radiation levels are in the 50-rad region, he said. "It's not going to be anywhere near that in the United States. It's hitting the panic button unnecessarily."
In cases of true radiation exposure, the benefits of potassium iodide outweigh the risks.
Taking stable iodide tablets can protect the thyroid from exposure to radioactive iodine-131 by "filling up" the gland and preventing it from taking up the radioactive iodine. But potassium iodide can be harmful to people who are allergic to the substance or who have the skin disorders dermatitis herpetiformis or urticaria vasculitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People with thyroid disorders whot take the substance can experience a worsening of their thyroid illnesses, Wartofsky said. If potassium iodide is truly necessary for these people, they should take it under a doctor's supervision. Pregnant women and infants should not be given potassium iodide because it could cause a serious thyroid disorder in infants.
The supplements can cause some side effects including nausea, rashes and inflammation of the salivary glands.
Related: Potassium iodide and Geiger counter sales spike after Japan disaster
Estimated Annual Doses of Radiation from Natural Background
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Tantao News) – When the Japanese government reported that six members of the emergency crew at the Fukushima plant were exposed to more than 100 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation per hour, many outside the nuclear industry wondered what this meant. This is understandable because radiation dose units are not familiar to many people despite the public being told that we are exposed to radiation from a variety of sources depending on where we live or have visited, our occupation, and what medical or dental procedures we have undergone.
For example, estimated annual doses from natural background levels include:
Average of total US- 3 mSv
US Rocky Mountain area- 6 mSv
Yangjiang, China- 6 mSv
Guarapari, Brazil – 35 mSv
Ramsar, Iran – 0.2 mSv
Airplane and space travel estimates:
Round-trip New York to London – 0.1 mSv/trip
Airline flight crews – 3 mSv/year
International Space Mission Participant – 100 mSv/mission
Medical diagnostics estimates:
Chest x-ray – 0.1 mSv
Mammogram – 2.5 mSv
G.I. Fluoroscope – 85 mSv
Full body- spiral Computed Tomography scan – 100 mSv
In cancer radiotherapy, the doses administered to tumors are markedly higher than doses received from diagnostic procedures since the goal of radiotherapy is to destroy the target tissue as opposed to obtain an image of it.
Placing all of these potential doses in context, a dose limit of 11 mSv per year is considered to be reasonable and protective by the US Department of Energy and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
For example, estimated annual doses from natural background levels include:
Average of total US- 3 mSv
US Rocky Mountain area- 6 mSv
Yangjiang, China- 6 mSv
Guarapari, Brazil – 35 mSv
Ramsar, Iran – 0.2 mSv
Airplane and space travel estimates:
Round-trip New York to London – 0.1 mSv/trip
Airline flight crews – 3 mSv/year
International Space Mission Participant – 100 mSv/mission
Medical diagnostics estimates:
Chest x-ray – 0.1 mSv
Mammogram – 2.5 mSv
G.I. Fluoroscope – 85 mSv
Full body- spiral Computed Tomography scan – 100 mSv
In cancer radiotherapy, the doses administered to tumors are markedly higher than doses received from diagnostic procedures since the goal of radiotherapy is to destroy the target tissue as opposed to obtain an image of it.
Placing all of these potential doses in context, a dose limit of 11 mSv per year is considered to be reasonable and protective by the US Department of Energy and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Acute Radiation Syndrome
Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS): A Fact Sheet for the Public
Radiation sickness, known as acute radiation syndrome (ARS), is a serious illness that occurs when the entire body (or most of it) receives a high dose of radiation, usually over a short period of time. Many survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs in the 1940s and many of the firefighters who first responded after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1986 became ill with ARS.
People exposed to radiation will get ARS only if:
- The radiation dose was high (doses from medical procedures such as chest X-rays are too low to cause ARS; however, doses from radiation therapy to treat cancer may be high enough to cause some ARS symptoms),
- The radiation was penetrating (that is, able to reach internal organs),
- The person’s entire body, or most of it, received the dose, and
- The radiation was received in a short time, usually within minutes.
The first symptoms of ARS typically are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms will start within minutes to days after the exposure, will last for minutes up to several days, and may come and go. Then the person usually looks and feels healthy for a short time, after which he or she will become sick again with loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly even seizures and coma. This seriously ill stage may last from a few hours up to several months.
People with ARS typically also have some skin damage. This damage can start to show within a few hours after exposure and can include swelling, itching, and redness of the skin (like a bad sunburn). There also can be hair loss. As with the other symptoms, the skin may heal for a short time, followed by the return of swelling, itching, and redness days or weeks later. Complete healing of the skin may take from several weeks up to a few years depending on the radiation dose the person’s skin received.
The chance of survival for people with ARS decreases with increasing radiation dose. Most people who do not recover from ARS will die within several months of exposure. The cause of death in most cases is the destruction of the person’s bone marrow, which results in infections and internal bleeding. For the survivors, the recovery process may last from several weeks up to 2 years.
If a radiation emergency occurs that exposes people to high doses of radiation in a short period of time, they should immediately seek medical care from their doctor or local hospital.
More Information
For more information about radiation and emergency response, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emergency Preparedness and Response website or contact the following organizations:
- The CDC Public Response Source at 1-888-246-2675
- Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) at 502-227-4543
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at 301-415-8200
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 202-646-4600
- Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) at 865-576-3131
- U.S. National Response Team (NRT)
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at 1-800-dial-DOE
From the CDC
What Preparations Can I Make for a Radiation Emergency?
- Your community should have a plan in place in case of a radiation emergency. Check with community leaders to learn more about the plan and possible evacuation routes.
- Check with your child’s school, the nursing home of a family member, and your employer to see what their plans are for dealing with a radiation emergency.
- Develop your own family emergency plan so that every family member knows what to do.
- At home, put together an emergency kit that would be appropriate for any emergency. The kit should include the following items:
- A flashlight with extra batteries
- A portable radio with extra batteries
- Bottled water
- Canned and packaged food
- A hand-operated can opener
- A first-aid kit and essential prescription medications
- Personal items such as paper towels, garbage bags, and toilet paper
For more information about preparing for a radiation emergency event, check the following Web sites:
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Q and A
Q&A: Health effects of radiation exposure
Japanese officials have ordered anyone living within 20km (12 miles) of the Fukushima nuclear power plant to evacuate the area.
A large explosion has occurred in one of its buildings and some radiation leakage has been detected. If the Japanese authorities act swiftly, they should be able to minimise the cost to human health.
What are the immediate health effects of exposure to radiation?
Exposure to moderate levels can result in radiation sickness, which produces a range of symptoms.
Nausea and vomiting often begin within hours of exposure, followed by diarrhoea, headaches and fever.
After the first round of symptoms, there may be a brief period with no apparent illness, but this may be followed within weeks by new, more serious symptoms.
At higher levels of radiation, all of these symptoms may be immediately apparent, along with widespread - and potentially fatal - damage to internal organs.
Exposure to a radiation dose of four grays will typically kill about half of all healthy adults.
For comparison, radiation therapy for cancer typically involves several doses of between one and seven grays at a time - but these doses are highly controlled, and usually specifically targeted at small areas of the body.
How is radiation sickness treated?
The first thing to do is to try to minimise further contamination by removing clothes and shoes, and gently washing the skin with soap and water.
Drugs are available that increase white blood-cell production to counter any damage that may have occurred to the bone marrow, and to reduce the risk of further infections due to immune-system damage.
There are also specific drugs that can help to reduce the damage to internal organs caused by radioactive particles.
How does radiation have an impact on health?
Radioactive materials that decay spontaneously produce ionising radiation, which has the capacity to cause significant damage to the body's internal chemistry, breaking the chemical bonds between the atoms and molecules that make up our tissues.
The body responds by trying to repair this damage, but sometimes it is too severe or widespread to make repair possible. There is also a danger of mistakes in the natural repair process.
Regions of the body that are most vulnerable to radiation damage include the cells lining the intestine and stomach, and the blood-cell producing cells in the bone marrow.
The extent of the damage caused is dependent on how long people are exposed to radiation, and at what level.
What are the most likely long-term health effects?
Cancer is the biggest long-term risk. Usually when the body's cells reach their "sell-by date" they commit suicide. Cancer results when cells lose this ability, and effectively become immortal, continuing to divide and divide in an uncontrolled fashion.
The body has various processes for ensuring that cells do not become cancerous, and for replacing damaged tissue.
But the damage caused by exposure to radiation can completely disrupt these control processes, making it much more likely that cancer will result.
Failure to repair the damage caused by radiation properly can also result in changes - or mutations - to the body's genetic material, which are not only associated with cancer, but may also be potentially passed down to offspring, leading to deformities in future generations. These can include smaller head or brain size, poorly formed eyes, slow growth and severe learning difficulties.
Are children at greater risk?
Potentially yes. Because they are growing more rapidly, more cells are dividing, and so the potential for things to go wrong is greater.
Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine in 1986, the World Health Organization recorded a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer among children in the vicinity.
This was because the radioactive materials released during the accident contained high levels of radioactive iodine, a material that accumulates in the thyroid.
How can the Japanese authorities minimise the cost to human health?
Professor Richard Wakeford, an expert in exposure to radiation, said provided the Japanese authorities acted quickly most of the general population should be spared significant health problems.
He said in those circumstances the only people likely to be at risk of serious health effects were nuclear workers at the plant or emergency workers exposed to high levels of radiation.
He said the top priority would be to evacuate people from the area and to make sure they did not eat contaminated food. The biggest risk was that radioactive iodine could get into their system, raising the risk of thyroid cancer.
To counter that risk people could be given tablets containing stable iodine which would prevent the body absorbing the radioactive version.