Officials at one of the busiest airports in the world had stated that detectors at the airport found higher-than-normal radiation levels on luggage in flights arriving from Tokyo.
The story came out today that the airport was checking luggage and cargo on flights inbound to Chicago from Tokyo. At least five or six planes, so far, have been found with high radiation levels. Officials stress, however, that the levels were still well below harmful levels for humans.
The local Chicago NBC television station published a story that they had learned, from sources within the airport, about the radiation levels. They have stressed that the levels, while higher than normal, they were still low and only on luggage and cargo and not passengers.
O’Hare has a very busy international terminal and receives flights from all over the world. The story went on to state that some 2,000 passengers arrive from Tokyo on 14 different flights from Japan every day. There were, initially, reports that passengers were setting off radiation detectors, but that has been denied by both NBC and airport officials.
Despite the radiation levels, the airplanes that were involved in the flights were cleared to resume flying. Even the luggage that had set off the detectors was eventually returned to the passengers.
The ultimate result of the positive results was that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection division stepped up their testing of other flights in from Tokyo. These inspections have increased within the last 24 hours. However, everyone involved has stressed that they do not believe the radiation levels were dangerous.
Officials, speaking to NBC off the record, stated that the detectors had been checking just as a precaution. Many international flights are checked for radiation levels and customs officials routinely inspect luggage and cargo fro radiation.
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
