25 Mar 2011

Japan radiation no threat to Hawaii, says agency

6:57 am on 25 March 2011

The United States Environmental Protection Agency says trace amounts of radiation from Japan that have been detected in Hawaii are far below any level of concern for human health.

The agency says preliminary monitoring results detected from a fixed monitor in Hawaii have found a miniscule level of an isotope consistent with the Japanese nuclear incident.

An agency spokesperson Dean Higuchi says a sample filter from the monitor is being sent to the national radiation laboratory for further analysis.

He says at this stage they are not expecting to see high levels of radiation from Japan's stricken nuclear power plant.

"We're not seeing anything, any kind of levels where there needs to be some concern. They are very very small trace amounts and people should feel confident that nothing has been detected that is a risk to human health."

Dean Higuchi says no other traces of radiation have been detected yet from other monitoring stations in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.