US geological survey records low radioactive fallout from Fukushima

Washington, Feb 23(ANI): The U.S. Geological Survey has revealed that the radiation fallout from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power facility in Japan was measured in minimal amounts in.

In a study, it said that around 167 sites were sampled in a nationwide study, and it was found out that about 20 percent of them had recorded a low level of radiation fallout.

The levels measured were similar to measurements made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the days and weeks immediately following the March 2011 mishaps, which were determined to be well below any level of public health concern.

This study is complementary to EPA results, and together these data will allow for a better picture of the deposition of radioactive fallout across the United States

USGS director Marcia McNutt said: "Japan's unfortunate nuclear nightmare provides a rare opportunity for U.S. scientists to test an infrequently needed national capability for detecting and monitoring nuclear fallout over a wide network."

USGS scientists detected Iodine -131, Cesium-134, and Cesium-137, the primary radioactive products released during an incident such as this one.

These detections were most frequently found along the West Coast, in the central and northern Rocky Mountain States and the eastern United States where precipitation fell most heavily in the weeks after the Fukushima disaster.

This is the second time that a sample from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) network has been used to measure radioactive fallout.

The first time was after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

The NADP network allows scientists to sample fallout at a wide range of sites, including rural and isolated areas. (ANI)