Radiation Found In Massachusetts Rainwater

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Small amounts of radiation have been found in rainwater in the United States as far east as Massachusetts. The measured levels of radioactive iodine 131 are considered harmless.

An article titled “Radiation In Massachusetts Rainwater Likely From Japan” by the Associated Press March 27, 2011 and published in the Huffington Post details the issue. The measured amounts of radiation found in rainwater across the country are at very low levels and not a threat to human health or drinking water.

What the discovery of radioactive iodine in rainwater falling in the United States tells us is how widespread the distribution of radiation can be once it is in the environment. It is 6,551 miles between the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan and Boston, Massachusetts.

What this also allows others to understand is the uproar taking place in Germany where massive protests against the continued use of nuclear power have been taking place. Germany was in the path of nuclear material that spread across the country when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in the Ukraine region of the former Soviet Union.

There is no reason to panic, but this is food for thought.