Two state Senate committees have passed a bill calling for the Hawaii Department of Health to launch a pilot project to monitor radiation levels for five years because some people are concerned about fallout from the March 11, 2011, nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
Senate Bill 3049 has received some lawmakers’ support, despite opposition from state health officials who say the department doesn’t see a concern and already has a radiation surveillance system in response to the disaster.
The committees on Health, Energy and the Environment have sent the bill on to the Ways and Means Committee.
State health officials said the testing includes continuous air sampling through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Radnet system in Honolulu and monthly sampling of rain along with quarterly sampling of milk, drinking water, as well as shoreline surveillance of Japan tsunami debris.
Officials warned additional testing could be expensive and require additional funding for sampling and laboratory analysis at a cost of about $1,000 per sample.
According to the department, trace amounts of radioactive material were detected in air, milk and rain for a few weeks after the Fukushima disaster but the levels have returned to normal.
Officials said there has been no evidence of radiation from Fukushima in the U.S. food supply at levels that would pose a public concern.
Sen. Russell Ruderman (D, Puna), who co-sponsored the bill, said the committee heard from dozens of residents who are concerned.
"I think the data could be more available to the public to ease their concerns," Ruderman said.
He said there’s also a question whether the kind of monitoring being done now is sufficient for the kinds of threats faced by the public from the Fukushima fallout.
Ruderman said the public testimony expressed a feeling that the Health Department wasn’t doing sufficient testing.
Hawaii island resident Sara Witt, who sent testimony to the Energy Committee, said the disaster at Fukushima is not over.
She said hundreds of tons of water are being poured over Fukushima reactors, and radiation-polluted water and debris from the tsunami are being carried by ocean currents to the West Coast and Hawaii.
Witt, interviewed Thursday, said she believes air testing for radiation levels should be done on each island in Hawaii.
Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona), a co-sponsor of the bill, said he felt the Health Department needs to improve its website and its ability to provide information quickly about radiation levels and the location of radiation detectors.
"The public really needs to be reassured," said Green, a physician.
While testing the air for radiation levels occurred on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii shortly after the Fukushima disaster, now the only air testing for radiation levels occurs in Honolulu, according to the Health Department.
Additionally, the department said it relies upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to test food for radiation.
Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo said the department was planning to post results of radiation tests on the website.
