U.S. finds low levels of radiation in milk

    WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A trace amount of radioactive(辐射性的) iodine（碘） has been found in a sample of milk from the west state of Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Wednesday.

    According to a joint¹ statement from the two agencies, results from a screening sample taken March 25 from Washington detected 0.8 pCi/L of iodine-131, which is more than 5,000 times lower than the Derived² Intervention³ Level set by the FDA.

    These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children, the statement said.

    Iodine-131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, and the level detected in milk and milk products is therefore expected to drop relatively⁴ quickly.

    "Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a minuscule⁵ amount compared to what people experience every day. For example, a person would be exposed to low levels of radiation on a round trip cross country flight, watching television, and even from construction materials," said Patricia Hansen, an FDA senior scientist.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。