U.S. Getting Radiation From China A-Blast
WASHINGTON — (AP) — Light radiation from a Chinese atomic test is sprinkling parts of the eastern United States, leading health officials in one state to warn residents to wash garden vegetables carefully before eating them.
Pennsylvania officials were first to report detection of the fallout from a Sept. 26 blast at Lop Nor in western China. Other areas reporting some radiation include New Jersey, southern Connecticut, Long Island, Delaware and South Carolina.
The Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) in Washington said that “the fallout is of low level and presents no cause of concern.” However, a spokesman added that data on radiation levels is still being collected.
Thomas M. Gerusky, head of the Pennsylvania bureau of radiological health, issued a warning that garden vegetables should be washed carefully before being eaten. He also said radioactivity had been found in samples of milk.
—Detroit Free Press, Oct. 5, 1976
