Virginia Tells Residents Not to Drink Rainwater

None of Virginia’s radiation monitoring systems has detected a level of radioactive material that would pose a public health concern, according to the state’s health commissioner. However, the state's health department is advising residents that although the state’s drinking water supplies remain safe, they should "avoid using rainwater collected in cisterns as drinking water."

Because of the ongoing nuclear incident in Japan, “recent reports of elevated levels of radioactive material in rainwater in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have been expected, since radiation is known to travel in the atmosphere,” said Health Commissioner Karen Remley, adding, “However, we are not seeing that in any of the monitoring data for [Virginia].”

The Virginia Health Department was scheduled to conduct routine quarterly radiological health division monitoring and is moving up that schedule by one week to begin today. This routine monitoring checks radiation levels in air, drinking water, vegetation and milk at sites throughout the state.

Although short-term elevations such as those in nearby states do not raise public health concerns and are expected to be relatively short in duration, the department said it's taking the following steps to resolve any concerns in Virginia:

• The state department is working with the state’s laboratory to implement the proposed baseline testing plan for rainwater, drinking water, vegetation and milk. Further testing will follow based upon results of the baseline testing and ongoing monitoring. This is not a new protocol, but a standard response when routine monitoring indicates a need to test further.
• The department is continuing to coordinate with federal and state partners to assure the safety and health of Virginians.

For more information:

• VDH at http://www.vdh.virginia.gov
• Environmental Protection Agency at http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/
• Center for Disease Controls at http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/isotopes/iodine131surfacewater.asp
• U.S. government response at http://www.usa.gov/Japan2011.shtml