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Fukushima - local children unwitting (and unwilling) radioactive guinea pigs

By John Daly - posted Tuesday, 31 July 2012


Only two months ago TEPCO stated that the Fukushima debacle may have released twice as much radioactivity than Japan's government initially estimated.

Accordingly, how can anyone estimate long term health effects when actual exposure rates are unknown?

That said, scientists do have a well defined test group - the population of Fukushima Prefecture surrounding the stricken NPP.

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And the sixth report of the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, which was released in April, revealed after the survey examined 38,114 local children that 36 percent of Fukushima children have abnormal thyroid growths.

The Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey revealed that 13,460 children, or 35.3 percent, had thyroid cysts or nodules up to 0.197 inches long growing on their thyroids and 0.5 percent of the children had growths larger than 0.197 inches.

So, why might this be significant? According to the American Thyroid Association (ATA), thyroid problems from nuclear events occur when radioactive iodine is leaked into the atmosphere and thyroid cells that absorb too much of this radioactive iodine may become cancerous, with children being particularly susceptible.

Furthermore, the ATA reports noted that thyroid cancer "seems to be the only cancer whose incidence rises after a radioactive iodine release" and that that babies and children are at highest risk. The estimated lifetime radiation doses among the children are still low, but they do exist, the Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences stated at a10 July international symposium in Chiba Prefecture.

Who cares about such an arcane issue? Well, the National Institute of Radiological Sciences conclusions refute the government's assertion that Japanese children in effect received zero thyroid radiation doses from Fukushima.

Re Fukushima children's health, the news just gets better. Two months ago Tokyo Shinbum reported that 60 percent of Fukushima children under 12 have tested positive for diabetes, according to Dr. Miura, the director of Iwase's general hospital.

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Why, possibly?

Because the Strontium-90 radioactive isotope quickly decays to become Yttrium-90, which can concentrate in the pancreas, causing pancreatic cancer or diabetes. That said, while noting the abnormality, Dr. Miura declined to link it to Fukushima radiation exposure.

So, where does the Japanese government go from here?

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This article was first published on OilPrice.com.



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About the Author

Dr. John C.K. Daly writes for OilPrice.com.

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