science-20842091.txt
At a government laboratory in Alabama, workers in blue coats unload envelopes packed with small filters that trapped air particles in Hawaii, Alaska and elsewhere. The discs are placed in lead- lined, barrellike devices for testing to make sure no traces of radioactive materials have wafted across the Pacific Ocean from Japan. So far, the sea breeze in places such as Honolulu is no more dangerous than the pollen-laden air of the Deep South, according to officials. Still, the 60 or so workers in the 72,000-square-foot building will be the first to know if the Japanese disaster spreads harmful amounts of radiation to the U.S. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration said very low levels of radiation had turned up in a sample of milk from Washington state, but federal officials assured consumers not to worry. The FDA said such findings were to be expected in the coming days because of the nuclear crisis in Japan and that the levels were expected to drop relatively quickly. The EPA said it was increasing the level of nationwide monitoring of milk, precipitation and drinking water.
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