Two B.C. organizations are calling for increased radiation testing, following the discovery of increased radiation levels
Testing done by Natural Resources Canada and Health Canada showed slightly elevated levels of radiation in March and April, following the disaster at the Fukushima reactor in Japan following a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Better Radiation Testing B.C. and the B.C. Environmental Network are calling for increased screening to ensure British Columbians, particularly northern British Columbians, are safe.
"There is no monitoring in the northern part of B.C. -and why?" Better Radiation Testing B.C. committee member Rita Dawson said. "We're concerned about the entire province, not just the Lower Mainland and the island."
Health Canada has conducted regular testing in Vancouver, Victoria, Naniamo and Sydney since March. Natural Resources Canada conducted a single test on Haida Gwaii on March 24, which showed a radiation level of 0.73 microsieverts per day.
The average daily expose in Vancouver in 2010 was 0.44 microsieverts. However, the average daily radiation exposure in Halifax in 2010 was 0.80 microsieverts per day.
Fellow committee member Daniel Rubin said increased monitoring needs to be done of rainwater and at B.C.'s ports.
"I know they are testing port facilities in Vancouver. I'm not certain... if they have the same kind of quick scan in Prince Rupert," he said. "The Chinese have already refused a cargo ship already, so this is an issue. After Chernobyl they found the major vector for radiation was their transportation system."
The groups are calling for increased testing of air samples across B.C., regular testing of drinking water, spot checks of dairy products, seafood and leafy vegetables, and increased disclosure of test results.
Researchers at the University of Southern California found rain with 181 times the normal level of radioactivity, he said.
"I'm not saying the sky is falling," Rubin said. "But this stuff is invisible, it's tasteless and odourless. The onus is on the government to do a minimum amount of spot checking -just in case."
