Concerns Regarding Radiological Impacts in Vermont and the Northern Western Hemisphere

EPA's measurement of atmospheric and rainwater radiation are showing levels above baseline in several states throughout the United States.  There are no health dangers from current levels of radiation in Vermont or the Western Hemisphere from the systemic failures at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, damaged by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

We expect that the public in Vermont and elsewhere will view the tragedy in Japan and may confuse detectable levels of radiation with dangerous levels of radiation in the U.S at great distances from the Fukushima power plant and its evacuation zones.  That said, the risks of nuclear power plants to the earth's ecosystem, the food chain, wildlife, domestic animals, human health, social ecology, community resilience, and economics can be substantial. 

Vermont may be impacted more from this current radiological, earthquake, and tsunami disaster in Japan by its impact on the global economy and on global food crisis.

For more information on radiation levels, please see: