Longshoremen at the Port of Long Beach are expressing concern about unloading cargo from ships that have arrived in port from Japan.
The longshoremen are worried about the possibility of radiation exposure and unsafe radiation levels aboard cargo ships that have set sail from Japan after the nuclear crisis.
At least three cargo ships from Japan have docked at the port, the first ships to arrive in Southern California from the devastated country.
The port of Long Beach has been equipped with radiation detection equipment for five years.
Customs officials said they have recorded no unsafe radiation levels at the port since the nuclear incident in Japan.
Despite the assurances, on Friday, two longshoremen refused to work aboard a freighter that sailed from Japan after the disaster.
Even though most longshoremen believe their jobs are safe from radiation, a few still have doubts.
“The guys who were mates on the ship they were Americans, they said well it’s less than what you would get on an x-ray, so I just hope it’s true,“ Joe Palumbo, a longshoreman told NBC4 Los Angeles.
