Radiation detected in UK

Radioactive iodine was found in air samples taken in Oxfordshire, Glasgow and Dublin.

Officials insisted the amount was “extremely low” but the traces came from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, 5,500 miles away, which was crippled when the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan nearly three weeks ago.

The revelation came as Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan told his country that it was grappling with its worst problems since the Second World War.

He described the quake, tsunami and nuclear accident as “the biggest crises for Japan” in decades. “We will continue to handle it in a state of maximum alert,” he said.

Exposure to high enough levels of radiation can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease and other healthconditions with the risk higher in  children than adults.

Environment charity WWF Scotland’s Dr Richard Dixon said the discovery should “act as a reminder to all of the folly of nuclear power”.

Experts last night played down the risks to humans and the environment despite the Iodine 131, the chemical in a radioactive state.

Dr Michael Clark of the Health Protection Agency said although radioactive iodine is already present in the UK the levels were high enough to indicate they came from Fukushima.

He said: “It is very unusual. But the doses are quite low, because radiation is so detectable we are able to pick it up even though the levels are so small. We can’t predict what will follow next, it depends on many things, including the weather.”