U.S. finds trace amounts of radiation in milk, no health concern

U.S. finds trace amounts of radiation in milk, no health concern

2011-03-31 14:13:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- Trace amounts of radioactive iodine have been found in a sample of milk in the U.S. state of Washington, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed on Thursday.

The agencies said in a joint statement that it found the trace amount of radioactive iodine in a screening sample taken on Friday in Spokane, Washington. It detected 0.8 pCi/L of iodine-131, which is more than 5,000 times lower than the Derived Intervention Level set by the FDA.

The agencies said 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. Iodine-131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, and the level detected in milk and milk products is therefore expected to drop relatively quickly.

"Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a miniscule amount compared to what people experience every day. For example, a person would be exposed to low levels of radiation on a round trip cross country flight, watching television, and even from construction materials," said Patricia Hansen, an FDA senior scientist.

EPA is continuing to conduct radiological monitoring of milk under its RADNET program, while the FDA has jurisdiction over the safety, labeling and identity of milk and milk products in interstate commerce. States have jurisdiction over those facilities located within their territory.

The tests are in part in response to the nuclear crisis in Japan, where a nuclear power plant was heavily damaged as a result of an enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a resulting tsunami. Small amounts of radiation have been released as a result, and have been detected in several countries.

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