Progress Energy confirmed Saturday that radiation from the troubled nuclear power plant in Japan has been detected at Progress' nuclear plants in South Carolina and Florida.
Drew Elliot, Progress Energy spokesman, told NBC-17 News that there was "no threat to public health and safety" and that federal regulatory agencies "are not concerned about it."
Elliot said radiation levels were so low that the company was not required to notify federal officials, however, he said the company had been in contact with local leaders in South Carolina and Florida.
News of the radiation being detected at the Progress plants was first revealed by the nuclear power plant opposition group, NC WARN. NC WARN sent to the media what was described as an "internal Progress Energy communication."
Elliot confirmed that Progress had sent an email to nuclear plant employees yesterday notifying them that Iodine 131 had been detected at two U.S. plants. He said the radiation levels were so low the company did not think a public news release was warranted.
Here's the text sent out by NC WARN:
"Iodine 131 detected at Robinson and Crystal River 3
March 25, 2011
U.S nuclear station air monitors, as well as other radiation monitoring stations across the country, have detected very low levels of Iodine 131 in the air as a result of the nuclear incident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan.
At Progress Energy, we have also detected very low levels at the Robinson and Crystal River Nuclear Plants. This is not unexpected given the sensitivity of our equipment in monitoring and detecting extremely low levels of radiation in the environment. We anticipate that we may see similar readings at Brunswick and Harris as well in the coming days.
Iodine 131 is one by-product of the fission process in commercial reactors and is also used in medical treatments. If released to the environment, it forms a vapor that can be transported great distances in the air. The levels of Iodine 131 being detected are extremely low.
The Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are monitoring the levels being observed in the United States and report there are no health concerns for U.S. residents.
Although, the low-level detection by our monitors is not reportable to any offsite agency we will make a courtesy notification to our local and state officials. We will continue to monitor and sample, as we always do, at each of our nuclear plants and will work closely with the EPA and the NRC to monitor the situation."
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