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Colorado’s Radiation Levels are the Highest in the World

Mike Hardaker
April 11, 2011 2 Mins Read
1.8K Views
31 Comments

Colorado radiation levels are currently the highest in the world according to the Radiation Network based in Prescott, Arizona which has released a real-time map of the United States showing current radiation levels as reported by the GeigerCounters.

The state of Colorado seems to be almost double if not triple the radiation level from other states, and here we thought it was California that would be in trouble first.

You may read some media propaganda stating Colorado’s radiation levels are high due to the elevation of the state. If this was truly the case wouldn’t we similar results in other states and countries above 5,000 feet in elevation? Food for thought, keep reading to learn more :

How to Read the Map showing Colorado Radiation Levels

The numbers represent radiation Counts per Minute (CPM), including environmental radiation from outer space as well as from the earth’s crust and air. Depending on your location within the US, your elevation or altitude, and your model of Geiger counter, this background radiation level might average anywhere from 5 to 60 CPM, and while background radiation levels are random, it would be unusual for those levels to exceed 100 CPM. – Currently, parts of Colorado are reading 64 CPM as of 4:00 pm MST 4/10/11.

Thus, the “Alert Level” for the National Radiation Map is 100 CPM, so if you see any Monitoring Stations with CPM value above 100, further indicated by an Alert symbol over those stations, it probably means that some radioactive source above and beyond background radiation is responsible.

So What Now?
Were not going tell our readers to stay indoors as we are all active people. For the most up to date radiation in Colorado, levels and more please be sure to visit: https://www.radiationnetwork.com/ and keep in mind this data is updated every minute 24 hours a day. Stay healthy..

radiation map

Who would ever thought that Colorado, located up in the in the rocky mountains would have the highest background radiation in the world? What are your thoughts on the findings above? Be sure to leave a comment below.

Follow Me Written By

Mike Hardaker

A dedicated gear tester, Mike spends his summers evaluating e-bikes, hunting equipment, and backpacking gear, transitioning to winter sports gear reviews, including splitboards and snowboards and avalanche snow safety equipment during the colder SNOWY winter months.

31 Comments

  1. Lillia Frantin says:
    December 3, 2023 at 9:45 AM

    Most reasonable is location of Rocky Flats…

    Reply
    1. Ram Chandra says:
      February 11, 2024 at 6:28 PM

      Yep~ Rocky Flats will take about 150,000 years to dissapate naturally

      Reply
  2. Brian says:
    November 30, 2023 at 7:54 PM

    I lived in Colorado for 30 years and have a degree in geophysical engineering with a minor in Geology. Any house in Colorado with a basement has to have a Radon mitigation system installed. “Half of all homes in Colorado have high radon levels. Living in a home with Colorado’s average level of radon (6.4pCi/L) is like having 200 chest x-rays each year. Approximately 500 people in Colorado die every year from lung cancer caused by radon exposure.Jan 25, 2023”. It simply comes from the ground and concentrates in basements.

    Reply
    1. Ram Chandra says:
      February 11, 2024 at 6:29 PM

      Nonsense~ it’s nuclear weapons manufacturing remains, not ground based natural. Namaste’

      Reply
      1. Billy Bob Morton says:
        December 29, 2024 at 4:56 AM

        Trust your science, until the scientist twos you what you don’t want to hear! Lol.

        Reply
        1. Mike Hardaker says:
          December 30, 2024 at 10:59 AM

          Billy,

          Well said, thanks for the comment.

          -Mike

          Reply
  3. Barb says:
    September 5, 2023 at 6:31 PM

    At my RA doctor’s today…I told him my Pulmonary doctor told me not to have cat scans anymore…He said why I told him he said to great a risk of getting cancer…I though he was going to fall off the chair….he wasn’t too happy ….said a cat scan is equivalent to 2 days in Denver…God i love that doctor.

    Reply
    1. FJ says:
      November 21, 2023 at 7:59 PM

      HEY I live in Denver!

      Reply
  4. Carolyn says:
    January 26, 2023 at 1:21 AM

    Don’t use iodine if you have Hashimoto’s though, (which is the #1 thyroid disorder and has plagued the populations since its addition to table salt). Iodine triggers the immune system in many to destroy the thyroid.

    I just noticed how old these posts are…oh well, I will add this info in case it is can help someone.

    Reply
  5. scott clauss says:
    May 12, 2022 at 7:37 PM

    Ramsar Iran has Colorado beat by quite a bit.

    Reply
  6. Trr says:
    August 16, 2019 at 5:28 PM

    So many morons. It called Uranium. The Rockies are full of it, thus higher background radiation levels.

    Reply
    1. rumplestilskin says:
      August 9, 2023 at 6:41 AM

      I always wondered why my eyes glowed in the dark !

      Reply
      1. Mike Hardaker says:
        August 9, 2023 at 9:54 AM

        This is great! Thanks for the comment, had us all laughing this morning.

        Reply
  7. Alex says:
    June 6, 2019 at 5:10 PM

    This aged well..

    Reply
  8. gio says:
    March 24, 2019 at 12:50 AM

    You can’t talk of CPM this way.
    You must measure H*(10) Equivalent Dose.
    CPM and CPS count depend by the detector. there is no such thing as CPM alert level. If I use a scintillator I could get 900 cpm where my tube measures 20…

    Reply
    1. FJ says:
      November 21, 2023 at 8:47 PM

      Exactly what’s happening to me. I have a Radiacode 102 and I’m sitting here in Denver clocking in the high 600s and low 700s steadily for hours since I got it in the mail this afternoon.

      Reply
      1. Daniel says:
        February 11, 2024 at 12:52 PM

        Thanks for pointing out how the type of detector matters. Clocking 290 cpm with a Radiacode 103 at my desk here in rural Boulder County. Whatever the level upstairs, it doubles walking into the basement. Cheers.

        Reply
  9. chasrmartin says:
    February 21, 2017 at 1:21 PM

    No they aren’t. They’re high, but there are lots of places that are higher

    Reply
  10. Harry S Truman says:
    April 4, 2016 at 3:11 PM

    You are all idiots that have no idea what you are are talking about.

    Disgusting.

    Reply
    1. Ronald Reagan says:
      August 14, 2023 at 12:53 PM

      The only thing disgusting here is your comment, grow up.

      Reply
  11. All AGlow says:
    August 24, 2013 at 12:57 AM

    It just blows me away that no one seems to correlate the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons site with the high radiation levels in Colorado. The plant operated from 1951 to 1994, and had some of the worst plutonium fires in the history of planet earth, leaving giant plumes of radiation spreading over Denver’s suburban communities. Tonnes of radioactive waste are sitting beneath 3 feet of soil on 11,000 acres of windswept land 9 miles from Boulder. Plutonium has a 24,000 year half life, and is not deemed safe for humans until after about 500,000 years. Read “Full Body Burden” if you can still sleep at night, or have children.

    Reply
    1. TJ says:
      April 17, 2015 at 10:42 AM

      The issue of radiation is not as simple as “there was a plant”. Radiation is present in many forms and the decay structure is complicated and ever changing. So, the question should be what type of radiation are we talking about and what is the source.

      Reply
      1. Mike Hardaker says:
        April 17, 2015 at 10:46 AM

        TJ,

        I agree, radiation is around us everywhere. Honestly the levels are far to high. As someone mentioned we believe the atmosphere around Colorado is capturing these emissions due to the height of the mountains?

        Hence why near bye states have lower levels?

        -Mike

        Reply
    2. chasrmartin says:
      February 21, 2017 at 1:21 PM

      It blows me away that people do.

      Reply
    3. Mr noname says:
      February 18, 2023 at 1:04 PM

      Let’s not forget what is considered low now was high in the obummer days everything changed as far as readings and what was accepted. I remember spikes in the seven hundred mark.

      Reply
  12. Mbert says:
    May 24, 2012 at 5:46 PM

    Uhh… When I first started looking at these numbers a little over a year ago most sites said that over 60 cpm was rare even at higher altitudes. Most readings were 13-16 avg and upto 30 cpm could be caused naturally. Looks like we are double what I saw these maps looking like a year ago. I just got my inspector alert and I’m barely going below 20cpm, which is the opposite of what I heard people say a year ago. We’re Fukushimmed.

    Reply
  13. Cam Worftner says:
    April 6, 2012 at 7:04 AM

    I toured the japanese power plant for the U.S government back in the late 70’s.
    Telling the CEO about the possibility of flooding in the generator station.
    Suggesting mounting generators on the roofs. His reply, they will rust.
    So I suggested a power cord to the roof, he said that he would think about it.
    I later found out his parents and entire family were killed during wwII.
    Resentment is a powerful tool that spans life times.

    Reply
  14. John says:
    June 21, 2011 at 8:53 PM

    I realize I’m a little late to comment here, but it is no surprise that Colorado has higher radiation readings than all the other states and it has nothing to do with Fukushima. The higher background is because the thinner atmosphere (higher elevations) provides less shielding against cosmic radiation from space. The national radiation map on this page is not likely to have given any indication of radioactivity arriving here from Japan because the levels are so small that any readings would be lost in the random fluctuations of the background rad field. This is probably a good time to mention that although Colorado has the highest average background radiation levels in the US, the state has some of the lowest cancer incidence and death rates in the country, around 10% below national levels.

    Reply
    1. Mike Hardaker says:
      June 22, 2011 at 9:06 AM

      John,

      Thank you for taking the time to comment, never to late!! Very interesting info especially the part about Colorado’s cancer level? I wonder if all the active healthy people in the state also play into that figure. It makes sense that higher elevation = a thinner atmosphere.

      Mike

      Reply
  15. james says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    it would be smart to put healthy iodine in our thyroid glands

    Reply
    1. Mike Hardaker says:
      June 3, 2011 at 8:15 AM

      James,

      Thanks for the comment, we have been hearing things on both sides good and bad.

      Mike

      Reply

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