document: State tests for radiation in Metro East SPRINGFIELD , Ill. • Illinois ' emergency management agency is testing for elevated radiation levels in the Metro East area , after finding trace materials elsewhere believed to be related to Japan 's earthquake-damaged nuclear power reactors , officials confirmed Friday . They stressed that the radioactive materials found in grass clippings from upstate Will County and in Springfield air samples are in minuscule amounts , far below established safety levels . '' `` These levels are very low and present no hazard to people in Illinois , '' '' Jonathon Monken , director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency , said in a statement . '' `` We will continue to track the deposition of radiation in Illinois to ensure there is no impact on public health and safety . '' '' Agency spokeswoman Patti Thompson said officials are now testing grass in Madison and Clinton counties and milk from local cows in Clinton and Bond counties , with additional testing in West Chicago and the Springfield area . The Metro East counties were chosen because of their proximity to the agency 's Springfield facilities and the fact that they 're not near any of Illinois ' six operational nuclear facilities . In Missouri , officials of the state 's Department of Health and Senior Services regularly monitor air , water and local milk , at monitoring sites in St. Louis , Jefferson City and Springfield . '' `` We have not received any reports of elevated radiation , '' '' said department spokeswoman Jacqueline Lapine . At least 15 other U.S. states have found trace levels of radioactivity apparently resulting from releases half a world away , at Japan 's Fukushima nuclear power reactors . The reactors were severely damaged in the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 , sparking worldwide concern about radioactivity . Thompson describes the radioactive levels found so far in Illinois as being about 200,000 times lower than the regulatory limits set for nuclear power plants . '' `` It was almost impossible to detect , '' '' she said . The intent with continued testing '' `` is to let people know we 're watching for it ... and to make sure we do n't see levels later that are of concern . '' '' Thompson said there is little doubt the readings are from the Japan disaster . '' `` This is a material that you really only find from a fission process , and this is the only thing we know of in the world with that kind of release . '' '' The material in question has an eight-day '' `` half life , '' '' meaning it loses half its radioactivity in eight days , and in effect will be gone in seven weeks .
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