Children sickness linked to Fukushima radiation

http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/children-sickness-linked-to-fukushima-radiation

June 19, 2011 10:36 am ET .

In the ultimate nuclear nightmare scenario now unfolding, Japanese local newspapers have attributed sickness in children to Fukushima's nuclear meltdowns, the radioactive levels now elevated throughout eastern Japan. Children over 32 miles from ground zero are suffering fatigue, diarrhea, and nosebleeds, the three most common of eight radiation sickness signs, the three in the earliest stage.

Tokyo Shinburn newspaper reported that many Japanese children have "inexplicable" symptoms. Each symptom described are among the first experienced with radiation sickness.

"Japan is dangerously contaminated by radioactivity over a far larger area than previously reported by TEPCO and the central government according to new reports from multiple sources," the Daily Kos reported.

"The prefectural government of Iwate released new data that shows radioactive contamination of grass exceeds safety standards at a distance of 90 to 125 miles from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plants." snip

Children become radiated when they drink milk and eat dairy products from cows feeding on radioactive grass, even at low levels according to the world's foremost anti-nuclear campaigner, Dr. Helen Caldicott, and other independent scientists. Radioactive materials concentrate in milk.

They need to get out of there. I do not understand why they stay.

Some don't have the money to do so, and some don't have anywhere to go--or anything to use to start life over with if they leave their homes.

Besides, many people are deeply attached to their home and their homeland.

If they can't all leave, they'll remain and collectively try to get through it. . .

their family, and heartless rescue programs refused to allow pets to be evacuated.

So my glow in the dark milk helps.

Kidding.

Kick

the utter horror, the trapped people...

Radiation sickness is extremely predictable and easy to test for, and so far not even any of the most exposed plant workers have gotten enough of a dose to even feel unwell, let alone get sick. The idea that kids 30 miles away are suffering exposure hundreds of times greater is nonsense.

Diarrhea, nosebleeds, and "fatigue" happen every day to kids without radiation being involved.

"every day" in most children. What is your field that you're such an expert?

In Fukushima, they are going to put dosimeters on kids.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13763601

I think the quoted link is nonsense, because it is not as if they haven't been checking, and the radiation levels required to induce radiation sickness are quite high and wouldn't be missed even by international monitoring.
http://fukushimanewsresearch.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/japan-radiation-screening-in-high-demand-in-fukushima/

How much exposure kids got in the initial stage is a question, but that was three months ago and the signs would have shown up then.

He said that two months ago. What were the results of that testing if you don't mind me asking?

You appear to know a lot about this subject so I figure you are the person to ask.

Don


http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/incident/110421_1606.html

Thursday, April 21 at 04:06pm, 2011

JAPANESE

REPORTER: A civic group has announced that it detected radioactive iodine in the breast milk of mothers in Ibaraki and Chiba Prefectures. There have not been standards set for breast milk in the past, but has the Government, or does the Government intend to, in some way, test for this or establish standards for breast milk that could be potentially consumed by infants who are highly susceptible to radiation?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I am aware that such an observation was released regarding breast milk. I therefore had instructed the MHLW to again investigate this issue. The fact that radioactive iodine was detected in breast milk is of course the result of consumption of food or water. We are, therefore, conducting thorough measurements of such substances in food, beverages, and the environment. There was a period when tap water temporarily displayed high levels. Nevertheless, the levels that were considered to be high in water but still below the standard limits later returned and have remained at harmless levels. In consideration of this, and since the tests we conducted lately reveal that levels in water and other foods are greatly lower than the so-called limits, we have decided that it is fine for everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, to continue lives as usual, and we ask that people refrain from excessive worry. However, I am sure that mothers are extremely worried. Therefore, I think it will be necessary to offer a continued testings to confirm the safety of breast milk for these mothers, and I have already issued such orders to the MHLW.

REPORTER: Does that mean that you will not be establishing a standard limit? Normally, the limit for water?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At the current stage, in consideration of what was reported and released, I can assume that if thorough monitoring was employed, we would find that levels have significantly fallen, or that they are nonexistent. Nevertheless, I understand that people are worried, so the Government intends to conduct continued tests and confirm the results. When pregnant or breastfeeding women are placed in stressful situations, it is unhealthy for the child, so I would like to reassure people that experts have confirmed that the current levels of detected iodine pose no health risk. Moreover, just to be sure we will continue monitoring I have ordered that monitoring be conducted so please feel safe and continue life as usual.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8465248/Radioactive-iodine-found-in-breast-milk-of-Japanese-mothers.html

The levels were below those of drinking water at the time, so made sense (about 29% bio-uptake of iodine in women).

They did not find cesium. Here's a Grist article that is pretty detailed on the subject and includes a second set of tests (1/3rd positive):
http://www.grist.org/pollution/2011-05-24-worried-radiation-breast-milk-still-best-to-keep-breast-feeding
That article gives the results of the breast milk testing (for those positive, about 1/3rd) as varying from 59 to 217 picocuries per liter.

For comparison, FDA's Derived Intervention Level:
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/japan-faqs.html


Those DIL's seem way too high to me, but admittedly a picocurie is a tiny amount.
http://www.iss.it/binary/publ/cont/Pag111_118_Vol26N21990.pdf
You might be interested in the above old but highly relevant study done in Italy at the time of Chernobyl.

Note that the natural level of radioactivity in human breast milk is around 20 becquerels per liter (Potassium 40), which kind of gives you an index on what levels of radioactivity would be harmful. The highest level in the first round of Japanese tests (iodine, no cesium found) was 39.6 becquerels per liter.

I can't prove it, but I think there are unsafe levels of ambient radiation in the several prefectures closest to the plant. However the authorities have taken action to limit a lot of the contamination routes discussed in that paper (leafy vegetables, etc).

One day dosage

0 – 0.25 Sv (0 – 250 mSv): None
0.25 – 1 Sv (250 – 1000 mSv): Some people feel nausea and loss of appetite; bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen damaged.
1 – 3 Sv (1000 – 3000 mSv): Mild to severe nausea, loss of appetite, infection; more severe bone marrow, lymph node, spleen damage; recovery probable, not assured.
3 – 6 Sv (3000 – 6000 mSv): Severe nausea, loss of appetite; hemorrhaging, infection, diarrhea, peeling of skin, sterility; death if untreated.
6 – 10 Sv (6000 – 10000 mSv): Above symptoms plus central nervous system impairment; death expected.
Above 10 Sv (10000 mSv): Incapacitation and death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert

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I appreciate the explanation.

...that you know the health status of the Fukushima plant workers?

Holy buckets...You're quite the Pollyanna aren't you?

They've been downplaying and covering up this catastrophe since it happened. It has come out that
they had three meltdowns within days after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. They covered it up.

And you actually think you know the health status of the plant workers?

That's bizarre.

Here's another, 30 years after TMI and SE PA has the highest thyroid cancer rate in the nation.

:cry:

We need to do all we can to help the children and the people of all ages of Japan.

This article claims that the Daily Kos "reported" something. What the post on the Daily Kos did was reference a newspaper report that quoted one family that said their daughter had nosebleeds in April, which her doctor attributed to allergies.

The person who wrote this article is not a reporter. She also writes, on her own personal website, about how the government uses nonlethal microwaves to control the thought of political activists.

Stop trying to make sense out of what is clearly a nonsensical disaster!

And just in case anyone really needs it, :sarcasm:

much more radiation than the media would like us to believe. But the newspaper the author of this article cites is not "Tokyo Shinburn," but "Tokyo Shimbun." This may seem like a small error, but when it's made twice and then combined with citing "an article cited by the Daily Kos" it casts doubt on the author's credibility.

Again, I have no doubt that the Fukushima meltdown (or melt-through!) will cause a health crisis the likes of which we've never seen. I would just prefer to get the facts from a credible source.

ETA: "Examiner" is an outfit like "Suite 101" -- essentially a sweatshop for freelance writers who are expected to churn out a certain number of articles a month for a few bucks. Not a good news source.

Maybe the author was thinking of what would happen if there were massively large amounts of radiation a foot above ground level in Tokyo?

At any rate, now I'll never be able to think of that newspaper as anything but the "Shinburn".

The web site for Ichinoseki City in Iwate Prefecture does note that cesium readings taken in some pasturelands in that city and in neighboring Fujisawa Town show higher levels than what are recommended for milk cows and cattle that are being fattened.

http://www.city.ichinoseki.iwate.jp/handlers/printcontent.cfm?GroupID=1&ContentID=23961&ThisPageURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.city.ichinoseki.iwate.jp%2Findex.cfm%2F1%2C23961%2C151%2Chtml&EntryCode=8308