Japanese Iodine-131 Emulates Kon-Tiki

Surprisingly for those of us who considered people complaining about radiation imminently flying from Japan to the Pacific Northwest coast in Canada and the USA as selfish and silly,
according to an article in Canada's Globe and Mail minuscule portions of said radiation, specifically iodine-131, have actually made this journey with the assistance of the jet stream. These minuscule portions were measured in rainwater and seaweed by scientists at Simon Fraser University and elsewhere in Vancouver.

As for Japan, here is an excerpt from the March 29 report of the International Atomic Energy Agency:

On 28 March, deposition of iodine-131 was detected in 12 prefectures, and deposition of cesium-137 in 9 prefectures. The highest values were observed in the prefecture of Fukushima with 23 000 becquerel per square metre for iodine-131 and 790 becquerel per square metre for caesium-137. In the other prefectures where deposition of iodine-131 was reported, the range was from 1.8 to 280 becquerel per square metre.

To give a sense of proportion.Given reports of farmers' crops and Tokyo drinking water being contaminated, workers at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffering radiation burns, etc. it is even more evident where the serious problem is to be found.

So the trans-Pacific complaints remain selfish and silly, and temporarily supported by <=12 becquerels' worth of an empirical basis.

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Elevated B.C. radiation levels considered no threat to health [Globe and Mail] by Mark Hume (March 29, 2011)
Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log [International Atomic Energy Agency] (March 29, 2011; Accessed March 30, 1:46 AM Berlin)
FAQs: Japan nuclear concerns;  [World Health Organization] (March 29, 2011)
Personal protective measures [ditto]

** N.B.: Kon-Tiki: raft on which Thor Heyerdahl attempted to cross the southern Pacific in 1947; sorry if the reference is obscure**