Children's cancer linked to Fukushima radiation
Source: Associated Press
A new study says children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at a rate 20 to 50 times that of children elsewhere, a difference the authors contend undermines the government's position that more cases have been discovered in the area only because of stringent monitoring.
Most of the 370,000 children in Fukushima prefecture (state) have been given ultrasound checkups since the March 2011 meltdowns at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The most recent statistics, released in August, show that thyroid cancer is suspected or confirmed in 137 of those children, a number that rose by 25 from a year earlier. Elsewhere, the disease occurs in only about one or two of every million children per year by some estimates.
"This is more than expected and emerging faster than expected," lead author Toshihide Tsuda told The Associated Press during a visit to Tokyo. "This is 20 times to 50 times what would be normally expected."
The study was released online this week and is being published in the November issue of Epidemiology, produced by the Herndon, Virginia-based International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. The data comes from tests overseen by Fukushima Medical University.
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Read more: https://www.dailystar.com.lb/Life/Health/2015/Oct-08/318143-childrens-cancer-linked-to-fukushima-radiation.ashx
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modern civilization attempts to dismiss the findings of a study NOT on the basis of HOW the study was conducted or even the findings of the study itself, but rather, on the basis that (to paraphrase) "there are more unknowns to study."
The silliness here is almost painful, particularly because there are thousands of children at risk.
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Toshihide Tsuda, a professor at Okayama University, listens to a reporter's questions during a press conference at Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. ... (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Interesting. It seems to correlate with high radiation levels displayed on this map that was created with data obtained 9 months after the explosions. Note how the highest levels (shown in red) extend northwestward from the reactors, and reach outside of the 20km/12mile exclusion zone. That radiation was carried by prevailing winds from the Pacific Ocean (blowing SE to NW) for a bit inland, until the winds shifted to NE-SW, resulting in several hotspots, including some major hotspots in Fukushima City, in the central area of the prefecture. The orange areas show measured levels of between 4 and 8 microsieverts per hour (for comparison, normal levels there are usually around 0.04 microsievert/hour).
Also of interest is that some cities far to the south of the reactors, such as Moriya and Kashiwa, were considered to be "hotspots" even though their respective radiation levels (about 10X above normal) were much lower than those in Fukushima City. Moriya and Kashiwa were also among those cities that issued orders to remove dirt from playgrounds, schoolyards, and other areas where children congregate if radiation levels 30cm/1 foot above the ground exceeded 0.5 microsievert/hour.
