Milk samples from Phoenix and Los Angeles contained iodine-131 at levels roughly equal to the maximum contaminant level permitted by EPA, the data shows. The Phoenix sample contained 3.2 picoCuries per liter of iodine-131 [...]

The cesium-137 found in milk in Vermont is the first cesium detected in milk since the Fukushima-Daichi nuclear accident occurred last month. The sample contained 1.9 picoCuries per liter of cesium-137, which falls under the same 3.0 standard.

A rainwater sample collected in Boise on March 27 contained 390 picocures per liter of iodine-131, plus 41 of cesium-134 and 36 of cesium-137. EPA released this result for the first time yesterday. Typically several days pass between sample collection and data release because of the time required to collect, transport and analyze the samples.

The sample was collected at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Sequoyah nuclear plant. A Tennessee official told the Chatanooga Times last week that radiation from Japan had been detected at Sequoyah but is “1,000 to 10,000 times below any levels of concern.” The 1.6 picocures per liter reported by the EPA on Friday is slightly more than half the maximum contaminant level permitted in drinking water, but more uniquely, it is many times higher than all the other drinking water samples collected in the U.S.

Drinking Water

Radioactive Iodine-131 was found in drinking water samples from 13 cities. Those cities are listed below, with the amount of Iodine-131 in picocuries per liter. The EPA’s maximum contaminant level for Iodine-131 in drinking water is 3 picocuries per liter.

  • Oak Ridge, TN collected 3/28: 0.63

  • Oak Ridge, TN collected at three sites 3/29: 0.28, 0.20, 0.18

  • Chattanooga, TN collected 3/28: 1.6

  • Helena, MT collected 3/28: 0.18

  • Columbia, PA collected 3/29: 0.20

  • Cincinnati, OH collected 3/28: 0.13

  • Pittsburgh, PA collected 3/28: 0.36

  • East Liverpool, OH collected 3/30: 0.42

  • Painesville, OH collected 3/29: 0.43

  • Denver, CO collected 3/30: 0.17

  • Detroit, MI collected 3/31: 0.28

  • Trenton, NJ collected 3/31: 0.38

  • Waretown, NJ collected 3/31: 0.38

  • Muscle Shoals, AL collected 3/31: 0.16

Precipitation

In the data released Friday, iodine-131 was found in rainwater samples from the following locations:

  • Salt Lake City, UT collected 3/17: 8.1

  • Boston, MA collected 3/22: 92

  • Montgomery, Alabama collected 3/30: 3.7

  • Boise, ID collected 3/27: 390

As reported above, the Boise sample also contained 42 pC/m3 of Cesium-134, and 36 of Cesium-137.

Air

In the most recent data, iodine-131 was found in air filters in the following locations. In the case of air samples, the radiation is measured in picoCuries per cubic meter.

  • Montgomery, AL collected 3/31: 0.055

  • Nome AK collected 3/30: 0.17

  • Nome AK collected 3/29: 0.36

  • Nome AK collected 3/27: 0.36

  • Nome AK collected 3/26: 0.46

  • Nome AK collected 3/25: 0.26

  • Juneau AKcollected 3/26: 0.43

  • Juneau AK collected 3/27: 0.38

  • Juneau AK collected 3/30: 0.28

  • Dutch Harbor AK collected 3/30: 0.14

  • Dutch Harbor AK collected 3/29: 0.11

  • Dutch Harbor AK colleccted 3/26: 0.21

  • Boise, ID collected 3/27: 0.22

  • Boise, ID collected 3/29: 0.27

  • Boise, ID collected 3/28: 0.32

  • Las Vegas NV collected 3/28: 0.30

  • Las Vegas, NV collected 3/30:: 0.088

  • Las Vegas, NV collected 3/29: 0.044

In older samples, isotopes of cesium and tellurium were found in Boise; Las Vegas; Nome and Dutch Harbor; Honolulu, Kauai and Oahu, Hawaii; Anaheim, Riverside, San Francisco, and San Bernardino, California; Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida; Salt Lake City, Utah; Guam, and Saipan on the Marina Islands.

EPA data summary and overview quoted from Forbes. Updated with new data from Forbes.

Uranium-234 detected in Hawaii, Southern California, and Seattle

EPA RadNet Air Concentration Measurement Data – Uranium, Plutonium, Strontium

Uranium-234 detected in Hawaii, Southern California, and Seattle

Uranium-234 detected in Hawaii, Southern California, and Seattle

Read the report here.

Uranium detection data quoted from Energy News.