Radiation in residents near Fukushima

Urine samples taken from 15 residents near Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear plant indicate internal radiation exposure, official said. The residents, from the village of Iitate and the town of Kawamata, about 20 miles from the Fukushima plant, had 3 millisieverts of radiation in their urine, Kyodo reported Monday. "This won't be a problem if they don't eat vegetables or other products that are contaminated," said Nanao Kamada, professor emeritus of radiation biology at Hiroshima University. "But it will be difficult for people to continue living in these areas. "The figures did not exceed the maximum of 20 millisieverts a year, but we want residents to use these results to make decisions" to move, Kamada said. The Fukushima plant has been releasing radiation since it was damaged by the 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami March 11.