Virginia Department of Health Monitoring Air, Water and Food for Radiation

State health department officials announced Sunday afternoon that they are monitoring air, water and food supplies for radiation related to the the nuclear reactor incidents in Japan.

“As a result of the incident with the nuclear power plant in Japan, several EPA air monitors have detected very low levels of radioactive material in the U.S.,” said State Health Commissioner Karen Remley, MD, MBA, FAAP. “To date, none of Virginia’s multiple monitoring systems has detected a level of radioactive material that would pose a public-health concern.”

In a press release, the Virginia Department of Health said that it was doing monitoring tests after an announcement by the Environmental Protection Agencyand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that, "Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have seen elevated levels of radiation in recent precipitation events."

In addition to the VDH's routine radiological monitoring, extensive routine monitoring is already being done in Virginia by the EPA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Dominion Virginia Power and the U.S. Military.

VDH is not recommending that residents take Potassium Iodide, a medicine that can protect the thyroid gland if a person is exposed to radioactive iodine, since significant radiation exposure is not anticipated. 

Although short-term elevations such as these do not raise public health concerns and are expected to be relatively short in duration, VDH is taking the following steps to resolve any concerns here in Virginia:

• VDH was scheduled to conduct routine quarterly radiological health division monitoring and is moving up that schedule by one week to begin on Monday, March 28. This routine monitoring checks radiation levels in air, drinking water, vegetation and milk at multiple sites throughout the state.
• VDH is working with the state’s laboratory to implement the proposed baseline testing plan for rainwater, drinking water, vegetation and milk. Further testing will follow as indicated based upon results of the baseline testing and ongoing monitoring. This is not a new protocol, but a standard VDH response when routine monitoring indicates a need to test further.
• VDH is advising residents that the state’s drinking water supplies remain safe, but reminds Virginians out of an abundance of caution they should avoid using rainwater collected in cisterns as drinking water.
• VDH is continuing to coordinate with federal and state partners to assure the safety and health of Virginians.