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Public Safety

Feds Deploy More Radiation Monitors In Western US

A RadNet radiation monitor is seen on the roof of the Bay Area Air Quality District offices on March 16, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan
A RadNet radiation monitor is seen on the roof of the Bay Area Air Quality District offices on March 16, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

Federal environmental regulators say they are adding more radiation monitors in the western United States and Pacific territories as concerns rise over exposure from damaged nuclear plants in Japan.

The Environmental Protection Agency already monitors radiation throughout the area as part of its RadNet system, which measures levels in air, drinking water, milk and rain.

The additional monitors are in response to the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan, where emergency workers are attempting to cool overheated reactors damaged by last week's magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami.

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Officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission say they do not expect harmful radiation levels to reach the U.S. from Japan.

The EPA says data from the monitors are available on its website for coastal states, Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa.

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