Nothing to fear from radiation in BC
By Nelson Daily Staff
Although small levels of radiation from Japan that have made their way over to the west coast of North America, there are no health risks to British Columbians due to radiation from the Japanese nuclear power plant, says the province’s health officer.
Dr. Perry Kendall said Wednesday people do not need to worry about any health risks from radiation in BC as a result of the nuclear reactor releases in Japan.
The BC Centre for Disease Control and Health Canada have been monitoring the radiation levels since the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
“As expected, we have seen extremely small levels of radiation from Japan that have made their way over to the west coast of North America, but the levels are so minute that they pose no risk of health effects,” said Dr. Kendall.
There will be “measurable evidence” of power plant-associated radioactivity in the air until about a week after the reactor in Japan has stabilized, Dr. Kendall said.
But levels noted are very low, he said. Radiation levels so far have all been within the normal range of variability, Dr. Kendall added, and are below what a person on a long-distance flight may be exposed to.
He re-iterated there is no need to take potassium iodide tablets to counter radiation effects.
People can check out the BC Centre for Disease Control website at www.bccdc.ca for regular updates to the radiation status.
Resources
BC Centre for Disease Control: http://www.bccdc.ca/resourcematerials/newsandalerts/news/japanQuake.htm
Public Safety Canada: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/em/jeic-faq-eng.aspx
Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/ed-ud/respond/nuclea/2011-02-17-eng.php
