Trace of radiation from Japan found at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, nuclear plants

CLEVELAND - A geology professor at Case Western Reserve University said trace amounts of radiation from Japan were found in rainwater collected on a campus building.

"In a way it was exciting but also scary at first," said Case Western Professor Geralo Matisoff who detected tiny amounts of iodine-131 on the top of the A.W. Smith Building, but said the presence of it is not dangerous to humans.

Matisoff estimated the level of radiation from this sample at one-tenth of natural background radiation.

"In theory, the iodine-131 could have come from any radioactive waste processing facility," Matisoff said. "But, we know it's from Japan. The isotope is being seen worldwide."

Masisoff collects water to monitor the particulates being carried into rain into Lake Erie.

Also on Monday, FirstEnergy said it has detected the same radioactive material from Japan at two of its nuclear plants in Ohio -- the Perry Nuclear Power Plant and the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. The company said it knows it is from Japan because the specific isotope detected only appears when a plant has a meltdown or is leaking. FirstEnergy found the radioactive material in puddles of rain water. Both locations are monitoring the levels and taking daily samples.

FirstEnergy also said the amount found was so small that it poses no health threat.

Other U.S. states have also reported minuscule amounts of radiation, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Nevada and other Western states.

The U.S. EPA says in a typical day Americans receive doses of radiation from natural sources like rocks, bricks and the sun that are about 100,000 times higher than what has been detected coming from Japan.