Officials are attempting to deliver more solid information to British Columbians about concerns over radiation from the Japanese crisis at nuclear power plants following the March 11 earthquake.
Local emergency coordinators took part in a conference call hosted by Emergency Management BC on March 17 to discuss the situation. Ryan Thoms, Powell River Regional District emergency coordinator, said he has heard concerns from local residents over the possibility of radioactive fallout coming across the Pacific Ocean in the case of a meltdown and is hoping to get some facts cleared.
Two doctors from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) took part in the meeting to address issues the coordinators have been hearing. The most common question heard has been over what the worst-case scenario would hold for the region.
Should the Japanese reactors go through a meltdown the effect on BC would be minimal, according to the authorities at the meeting. Plutonium and uranium could be released into the environment but being heavy metals they would not travel far. Radioactive iodine would also be released but according to the BCCDC would break down before reaching BC. Both the BCCDC doctors and the provincial health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, are not recommending the consumption of potassium iodide tablets as a precaution.
Strontium and cesium do not decay quickly and could potentially travel far distances. However, BCCDC doctors maintain that between Japan and BC they would be diluted to a point where they would be difficult to detect and would be harmless. Both soft metals can be harmful to humans if absorbed.
Thoms said it will be some time before the long-term global effects of any fallout are known but that immediate concern is minimal. Kendall also released a statement on March 14 agreeing that there “is no expected health risk from radiation” for British Columbians.
