Question of the Week: Radiation from Japan's Reactors

These questions are culled from phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails sent to Rep. Gallegly's Thousand Oaks, Solvang, and Washington offices. Each week Rep. Gallegly adds another question and answer. Please add your comments.

March 18, 2011

Question: Will radiation from the nuclear power plants damaged by the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan reach the west coast of the United States? If so, are there any health risks?

Answer: Workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant are working tirelessly to get the plant under control. Despite their efforts, some radiation has escaped and traveled as far at the west coast of the United States. Monitors in Sacramento, California, have detected a small amount of radioactive material from the nuclear plant in Japan.

Government experts have assured me that the amount of radiation detected is far less than the amount that would be harmful to human health. People come into contact with low doses of radiation every day using an X-Ray machine, flying in an airplane, and even eating a banana. While it is not healthy to come into contact with large amounts of radiation, some doses are not harmful to human health.

The California Department of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are among several state and federal agencies that have been activated to monitor the situation and its effects on the west coast. While most experts predict that large amounts of radiation from Japan's reactors could not make it to the west coast, the situation in Japan is fluid and I am monitoring the situation closely.

For more information about radiation and its health effects, please refer to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

For updates regarding the Fukushima nuclear power plant and its effect on the United States, please refer to the NRC's News Releases.

You can also add yourself to the NRC News Release listserv.

For previous Questions of the Week chronologically and by topic, please see my Questions of the Week page.