Map Shows Radioactive Plume Heading Toward California

Trace amounts of radiation from the nuclear disaster in Japan could reach the greater Southern California area by today, according to federal authorities. However, the levels are not considered high enough to pose a health risk to the community.

Less, in fact, "than you get during an X-ray at your dentist," a Long Beach pharmacist said Thursday night.

Still, residents have been calling local pharmacists seeking potassium iodide pills as a protective measure. Local pharmacies from Rite Aid to CVS in Belmont Shore and nearby areas do not carry the pills, although some might receive them. The pharmacies that do carry the pills, which help to protect against radiation sickness, tend to be in south Orange County near the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

There is no need to panic, local emergency coordinators say, because they are in touch with the experts and with FEMA, and the levels of radiation that would reach the Unites States don’t pose a health threat. If that were to change, said Todd De Voe, emergency services coordinator for the city of Seal Beach, city governments would have enough notice to take emergency measures, such as evacuation.

Austria’s Federal Ministry for Science and Research has released a map showing radioactive material from the nuclear disaster in Japan as it heads across the Pacific Ocean. According to the United Nations, small amounts of radiation could reach California by Friday.

The U.N. says the plume will lose radioactive force as it travels and might not be detectable when it reaches the Southland.

Potassium iodide is a salt—the chemical symbol is KI—similar to table salt. It can be used to protect the human thyroid gland from radioactive iodine.

“I know there has been a run on them because of what is going on in Japan,” De Voe said. “But the pills should not be taken unless ordered to because the pills are only active for 24 hours. We would recommend people take the pills as they are evacuating. You wouldn’t want to take them and then sit and hang out.”

Because there isn’t a health threat associated with the radiation from Japan, De Voe said he doesn’t anticipate the need for any emergency measures. If there were such a need, measures would range from evacuations to recommending that people, “shelter in place,” by staying inside and turning off their air conditioners and closing their vents, said De Voe; remaining at home should be enough to protect anyone from radiation particles.

Residents in Belmont Shore and nearby communities have been calling the CVS pharmacies on Pacific Coast Highway and on Katella seeking the pills, but the store doesn’t have any, said a pharmacist there. Similarly, other local pharmacies from the independent chains to Rite Aid don’t carry the pills either.