Could Radiation From Japan Affect The U.S.?

After three explosions at a the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan, some have wondered if radiation from a meltdown could reach the West Coast of the U.S.

If radiation reached the U.S., experts said it would likely be at levels lower than many common exposures. They said activities like flying cross-country as well as getting an X-ray have higher levels than those levels that could reach the West Coast.

In accidents like the Chernobyl meltdown in 1985, high levels of radiation traveled less than 1,000 miles from the reactor site.

Japan is more than 6,000 miles from the U.S. West Coast.

ABC-7 spoke with a local radiologist who also was concerned about people on the West Coast buying potassium iodide pills, which are used to prevent radiation sickness, without doctor’s advice.

“I would say that really we need to calm down. It’s 6,000 away and it doesn’t happen overnight,” said diagnostic radiologist Dr. Carmen Arango.

Arango also worried that the over-the-counter pills that are flying off the shelves could be harmful to those who take them, especially pregnant women.

Arango said she wasn’t worried about radiation levels being affected here in the Sun City.