Citing Nuclear Radiation Levels, Virginia Advises Against Drinking Rainwater

Virginia's health commissioner is advising her state's residents not to drink rainwater because of concerns about slightly elevated radioactivity levels.

"The Virginia Department of Health is advising residents that the states drinking water supplies remain safe, but reminds Virginians out of an abundance of caution they should avoid using rainwater collected in cisterns as drinking water," the state announced this week.

The warning came as radioactivity readings crept up along America's Eastern seaboard.

To date, none of Virginias multiple monitoring systems has detected a level of radioactive material that would pose a public-health concern," said Health Commissioner Karen Remley.

Recent reports of elevated levels of radioactive material in rainwater in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have been expected, since radiation is known to travel in the atmosphere, added Remley.

To get a better handle on the situation, Remley said Virginia was moving up its scheduled quarterly radiological monitoring program.