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Radioactive iodine detected in more regions

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-29 20:56

BEIJING - "Extremely low levels" of radioactive iodine have been detected in the air above several regions of China, but the material poses no threat to public health or the environment, according to an emergency committee.

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

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Low levels of radioactive isotope iodine-131 were recently detected in China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province and southeast coastal areas.

According to the statement, no protective measures need to be taken against contamination from the material. The material is believed to have traveled to China by air from the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

The committee said that detected levels of the radioactive material were below one-hundred-thousandth of the average annual exposure level.

The committee's conclusion was based on 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.