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SE China detects low-level radioactive material

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-28 21:12

BEIJING - "Extremely low levels" of radioactive material have been detected in the air above China's southeastern coastal areas but the radiation of these levels will not affect public health or the environment, authorities have said.

The information was revealed in a statement issued Monday by China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee.

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According to the statement, experts said no protective measures were needed against the materials, which were believed to have been dispersed by air from the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

The committee said the detected levels of radioactive materials were below one-hundred-thousandth of the natural background radiation.

"The incident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant hasn't had any impact on the environment and people's health in China thus far," said the statement.

The conclusion was based on the monitoring and analysis results from the Beijing-based Regional Specialized Meteorological Center affiliated with the World Meteorological Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the State Oceanic Administration and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, according to the statement.

Earlier on Monday, Chinese experts said low levels of radioactive iodine-131 detected in the air of China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province over the weekend were no threat to public health.