China detects rising radiation levels in areas close to North Korean nuclear blast site

The nuclear test by North Korea, relase a radiation level in Changbai Korean, closest Chinese urban area in Punggye-ri, the estimated 100 kiloton. Guo Qiuju, a professor of radiation protection at the school of physics at Peking University, said it was too early to be certain what had caused the rising trend at the monitoring stations as radiation levels change over time even under normal conditions. The current radiation levels were far below anything that could be regarded as a risk to people’s health, she said, but if the figures keep going up it may require a closer look. Guo explained that it was considered normal for readings to fluctuate within a 20 nanogray range due to the effects of wind, rain and cosmic rays. Radioactive materials floating high in the atmosphere could be carried down into the soil by rain, she said. Several regions close to the test site had recorded rain in the past few days, according to Chinese weather authorities.