Authorities in California have sent teams to measure radiation along the San Mateo County coast in response to a video posted on YouTube by an unidentified author, yet found nothing life-threatening. In a seven-minute video, a man holding a Geiger counter radiation detector is walking through Pacifica State Beach near San Francisco. The counter indicates fluctuating radiation levels – at times of up to 150 counts-per-minute or five times higher than normal.
The author of the video says on his blog that he has been taking radiation measurements in the area for over two years. In late December, he spotted a sudden increase in radiation which he claims to be the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear breakdown in Japan.
More than half a million people have viewed the video, titled “Fukushima hits San Francisco!”, since it was uploaded to YouTube on Christmas Eve.
Local health officials conducted an independent survey and confirmed “higher-than-typical” radiation readings but denied that there was any “immediate public health concern”.
Nevertheless, they forwarded the matter to the US Environmental Protection Agency. So far, it’s not clear if any further inquiry will follow.
The controversial video has fueled fears that radioactive waste generated by the Fukushima disaster might affect the US coast.
But scientists are skeptical that there is any Fukushima-related radiation hitting California beaches in any detectible levels.
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