The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Health are posting radiation readings from monitoring stations online.
The EPA website, www.epa.gov/cdx, displays a map of stations nationwide, including four fixed monitors in Washington state — Seattle, Olympia, Richland and Spokane — and provides a way to see readings at each of the stations.
Readings through the state Department of Health at four stations — Tumwater is referred to rather than Olympia — are available at http://tinyurl.com/4b26u6h. They are updated daily at about 3 p.m.
The state Health Department website has a history of daily measurements at these stations: Seattle, about 100 miles from the center of the North Olympic Peninsula; Tumwater, about 120 miles away; and Richland and Spokane, both in Eastern Washington.
The chart shows radiation levels known as “gross beta,” which refers to all radioactive materials that emit beta radiation.
Gross beta measurements “give us the fastest indication of any change in radiation levels,” the state website says.
Saturday afternoon’s EPA posting showed a measurement of 13 counts per minute at the Seattle station. The state Health Department said last month’s average was 14. Last month’s highest reading was 41, and the lowest was 7.
At the Olympia station, the Saturday reading was 19 counts per minute.
The levels would have to be hundreds of times higher for health officials to recommend protective measures, the state website says.
