1 / 6 Radiation Reaching The U.S.

In the weeks after the Fukushima disaster, some feared that radiation emitted from the stricken nuclear plant could reach the United States. At the end of March 2011, Nevada "joined several western states" that <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nevada-radiation-japan-nuclear_n_841224" target="_hplink">detected "extremely small amounts" of radioactive isotopes</a> from Japan, according to the Associated Press. In April, "trace amounts" of radiation from Fukushima were detected in Denver drinking water, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17828984" target="_hplink">reported the <em>Denver Post</em></a>. Officials concluded that radiation levels were "harmless," however. An EPA spokesman said in a statement, "To put this drinking water sample into context, an infant would have to drink nearly 7,000 liters of this water to receive a radiation dose equal to just one day's worth of natural background exposure." Officials in Colorado also <a href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/04/03/colorado-snowpack-sampled-following-japan-nuclear-disaster/" target="_hplink">tested snowpack for traces of radiation</a>.

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