Japan Studies Radiation Effects on Children

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

In an effort to track the long-term health effects of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan has begun a long-term survey of local children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with exposure to radiation.

The study comes in response to concerns over the health consequences of the serious radiation leaks caused by multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March. Japanese officials hope to study about 360,000 children who were under 18 at the time of the accident and track their health through their lifetimes, according to Fukushima Prefecture officials.

Children and pregnant women are particularly sensitive to radioactive iodine, which can harm the thyroid, studies after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster have shown. According to research presented at a 2006 global conference, at least 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer among children have been linked to Chernobyl's fallout.

On Sunday, the first day of the Fukushima study, more than 100 children were tested. Specific test results will not be made public, according to Fukushima Prefecture. But the children, who will be tested every two years until they turn 20 and every five years after that, will receive further care if doctors discover abnormalities.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/world/asia/japan-studies-radiation-effects-on-children.html

[Demeter]

1. Ah, Yes, Of Course, a Study

I don't think there's a Japanese mother alive today who went through nine months of pregnancy and labor of childbirth to produce a Guinea Pig!

Get a clue, morans.

[Downwinder]

2. About time a followup study is done. It was not done

after the open air tests. 20 is too soon to cut it off and it should go through at least three generations.

[boppers]

3. Three generations?

Uhm, is there some thyroid-zygote path you're thinking about?

[Downwinder]

5. Agent Orange has effected three generations.

Cancer is showing up in the second generation from the Nevada tests. I don't know if it is related, but it should be tracked in Japan.

[DeSwiss]

4. Tips For Doing Radiation Studies:

- If they're detecting http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/06/201161664828302638.html">radioactivity in car filters in Tokyo, then you might want to move the children farther away from the radiation -- first.

K&R

OCTOBER 2, 2011, 2:57 A.M. ET

Japan Discovers Plutonium Far From Crippled Reactor

WSJ
By TOKO SEKIGUCHI

TOKYO—Trace amounts of plutonium were found as far as 28 miles from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant, the first time that the dangerous element released from the accident was found outside of the immediate area of the plant.

The science ministry report issued Friday comes just as the government lifted one of its evacuation advisories, underscoring the difficulty of restoring normalcy and assuring the safety of residents around the crippled plant.

The government also reported a rare detection of strontium, another highly dangerous element, far from the crippled reactor, in one spot as far away as 50 miles. Most of the radioactive material discovered to date in the communities surrounding Fukushima Daiichi has been cesium or iodine.

The report said that the radiation from plutonium and strontium was "extremely low" compared to the high concentration of cesium, advising that the government maintain its focus on measuring and clearing the areas of cesium.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204226204576604013365441594.html">MORE