UNSCEAR report (2)

April 3, 2014

U.N. panel sees no discernible increase in Fukushima cancer rates

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140403p2g00m0dm067000c.html 

VIENNA (Kyodo) --- A U.N. scientific panel said in a final report Wednesday that no discernible increase is expected in future cancer rates due to radiation exposure in areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant accident.

"The doses to the general public, both those incurred during the first year and estimated for their lifetimes, are generally low or very low," the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) said in its report on Fukushima.

For adults in Fukushima Prefecture, "While risk models by inference suggest increased cancer risk, cancers induced by radiation are indistinguishable at present from other cancers," the committee said.

"Thus, a discernible increase in cancer 0incidence in this population that could be attributed to radiation exposure from the accident is not expected," it said.

The estimated dose for 1-year-old infants in the thyroid -- an organ particularly susceptible to radiation -- was estimated to be up to 80 millisieverts in the first year in the affected districts after the accident, it said. In contrast, for adults, the dose remained mostly below the critical threshold of 50 mSv.

The scientists noted that these dosage levels cannot be measured in general terms but considered only at an individual level as they are affected by various factors such as how long people stayed outside and what and how much contaminated food they ate.

Wolfgang Weiss, chairperson of the UNSCEAR Fukushima Assessment, said the risk of those infants developing thyroid cancer is low but they should consult a doctor who can help them through continuous diagnosis.

Thirteen workers were exposed to high doses estimated to be between 2 and 12 mSv as a result of their involvement in work in the first days after the accident at the plant but no immediate impact is said to have been observed on their health so far.

Compared with the 1986 Chernobyl incident, the prompt evacuation of people and other measures taken in Fukushima contributed to the effective reduction of radiation doses impacting people [????], the scientists said.

The results presented in the latest report differ from those in a report published by the World Health Organization in February 2013 that warned of higher cancer risks for residents around the nuclear power plant and plant workers.

On this, UNSCEAR said the WHO only had access to information available up to the first six months after the accident and calculated the estimates by using models and plausible parameters, while UNSCEAR made use of precise dose distributions from an additional year.

Weiss also cited the importance of conducting the Fukushima health survey over the long term. "This should continue to just see if something is showing up in the long term which we haven't seen. We can only judge what we have seen and assessed on the basis of what we know."

April 03, 2014(Mainichi Japan)

UN: Cancer unlikely to increase in Fukushima

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140403_15.html 

A report by a United Nations committee says the nuclear accident in Fukushima prefecture is unlikely to cause a significant rise in new cancer cases.

The UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation released the report on Wednesday. It includes analysis by over leading 80 global scientists on radiation and its effects following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011.

UN experts say they have received no reports on death or serious illness associated with radiation caused by the accident.

The report concludes that no significant changes in future cancer rates are expected due to radiation exposure.

The report covers children, who are deemed especially vulnerable. It says there is a theoretical increased risk of developing thyroid cancer among exposed children. It says the risk is low, but points to the need to continue monitoring health conditions.

The report says monitoring of radiation exposure to plant workers was greatly delayed after the accident, leading to unclear exposure data in the early stages of the crisis. The report urges Japan to take appropriate measures in this regard.

Apr. 3, 2014 - Updated 02:19 UTC