Don’t Panic of the Day:

You might want to hold off on ducking and/or covering: According to Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Gregory B. Jaczko, the radioactive plume currently making its way to the west coast from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant poses no immediate health risk.

“You just aren’t going to have any radiological material that, by the time it traveled those large distances, could present any risk to the American public,” Jaczko said in a recent White House briefing.

Atmospheric experts expect the plume to arrive as early as tomorrow, but say it could take another week or so. The NYT posted an interactive illustration of the plume’s projected path based on Pacific wind patterns, which you can see above.

[nyt / lat / video: towleroad.]