Researchers from the New York-based Radiation and Health Project have reported in a study published by the Open Journal of Pediatrics that children born in the west coast of the United States after the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown are 28 percent more likely to develop congenital hyperthyroidism.
In examining post-Fukushima children, researchers have found parallels to European children that were born after the 1986 meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
“One risk factor documented in numerous studies is exposure to radioactive iodine found in nuclear weapons test fallout and nuclear reactor emissions,” the study stated. “Large amounts of fallout disseminated worldwide from the meltdowns in four reactors at the Fukushima-Dai-ichi plant in Japan beginning March 11, 2011 included radioiodine isotopes. Just days after the meltdowns, I-131 concentrations in U.S. precipitation was measured up to 211 times above normal.”
“Highest levels of I-131 and airborne gross beta were documented in the five U.S. states on the Pacific Ocean,” the study continued. “The number of congenital hypothyroid cases in these five states from March 17-Dec. 31, 2011 was 16 percent greater than for the same period in 2010, compared to a 3 percent decline in 36 other U.S. states.”
Hypothyroidism and the fallout of radiation
Congenital hypothyroidism is an ultra-rare disease which is the condition of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4 or thyroxine) being underproduced at birth. Approximately one in 4,000 newborns are born with a severe case of the disease, while many have milder cases of the infliction. If left untreated, the disease will lead to growth failure and permanent mental retardation. The disease is treated by oral administration of thyroxine.
A Jan. 21, 2013 report from the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey revealed that 44.2 percent of the 94,975 children sampled had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities. The number of abnormalities has been increasing over time. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that girls living within a 12 mile-radius of the fallout’s epicenter will develop thyroid cancer.
Bluefin tuna off the coast of Japan still show signs of radiation contamination two years later, and fish caught off the coast of California has tested positive for radiation. In January, a murasoi fish was caught near Japan that had about 2,540 times Japan’s legal limit for seafood radiation. Radiation levels have not decreased as scientists expected. “The numbers aren’t going down. Oceans usually cause the concentrations to decrease if the spigot is turned off,” Forbes Magazine reported. “There has to be somewhere they’re picking up the cesium.”
Playing with fire
A recent report from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — the utility that operated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant — has acknowledged that the company was not ready to deal with the earthquake and tsunami that crippled the power plant in 2011.
“We need to sincerely accept the outcome that we were not able to prevent an accident that should have been prevented by making preparations,” TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said at a press conference.
The report pointed to the fact that TEPCO’s equipment and safety measures were insufficient. The company admitted to naming the improper location of the backup power systems, which made the crisis inevitable. TEPCO also admited to failing to inform the public of risks and troubles at the plant.
According to TEPCO, total compensation for the victims of the meltdown could reach $7.6 billion.
The meltdown started when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the shores of Fukushima created a tsunami that flooded the lower room of the power plant. Recent reports indicate that a “rat-like” animal 25 centimeters long short-circuited a switchboard, deactivating the plant’s cooling systems and causing three reactors to meltdown. Nine facilities at the plant were disabled and it took 30 hours to repair the affected systems. In all, 160,000 local residents had to be evacuated.
A return to nuclear power
Despite this, Japan intends to restart six nuclear reactors by the end of this year. The nation’s other reactors — except the American-built General Electric Fukushima-styled reactors — will be restarted at a later time. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed that the new safety standards will be carried out “without compromise.”
In a 2012 article on Russia Today (RT), Sergey Kirienko, head of Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear agency, defends the safeness of nuclear energy: “Nuclear energy is perfectly environmentally friendly, much more so than all the other types of power generation, such as thermal energy, for example. In fact, it would be more precise to consider nuclear power “alternative energy,” right there with wind power, solar energy and hydraulic power engineering. It does not produce greenhouse gases as such, period. When a nuclear power plant is running normally, its impact on the environment equals zero.”
“I actually think that all this fuss about the hazards of nuclear energy was our own fault: We used to withhold technical information on nuclear power plants,” Kirienko continued. “And when there is no reliable information, that’s when myths emerge.”