SC air, rainwater have very low radiation levels

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Health officials say air and rainwater samples collected from several locations in South Carolina are showing minor levels of radiation related to the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a news release Friday that the levels of Iodine-131 detected are not a health threat.

The agency says the levels are significantly lower than the radiation a person would be exposed to on a round-trip international flight.

Health department officials say the findings in the samples are similar to results from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tests at sites around the U.S.

Drinking water samples also have been collected from Barnwell, Seneca, Columbia and Jenkinsville and sent to the state laboratory and EPA for analysis.

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