So far there is no detectable increase in radiation anywhere in California.
We know that because of a system designed to monitor U.S. military nuclear testing in the 1950s called RadNet. It came back to prominence this week because the windmill-like devices would indicate if radiation was in the air. There are RadNet stations in San Francisco and San Jose and according to those tracking the data, nothing out of the norm has been detected
U.C. Berkeley nuclear engineers also set up a monitoring station on top of Etcheverry Hall with the express purpose of looking for radiation from the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan and say all levels are in the normal range. You can see the data for yourself at this link.
Air pollution regulators in Southern California also report no increased levels of radiation.
The kind of radiation that comes from a nuclear reactor is called ionizing radiation. Scientists told KCRA in Sacramento that we are exposed to it every day. It comes from things like granite. One expert said you would be exposed to more radiation leaning over the granite counter in your kitchen than what will make it here from Japan.
There is a way to track radiation levels here in the Bay Area for yourself. A privately run company in Arizona runs a website radiationnetwork.com that collects data from citizens who own radiation detectors and download the company's software. The radiation detectors send the data from those locations. The only Bay Area location on the site is located in Menlo Park at a private home and has so far found no increased levels in radiation. Th
A United Nations diplomat with access to radiation tracking says initial readings show radiation levels at one-billionth of what could cause health problems. Scientists say the radioactive particles lose energy and are diluted as they travel the 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean.
An animation posted on the New York Times Thursday seems to raise the fear level along the West Coast because it showed radiation arriving here today. In the end, that proved to be a false forecast, according to the experts.
