nuclear-news

World Health Organisation grudgingly admits that radiation raises cancer risk in children

WHO forecasts no significant increase in cancer patients in Fukushima, Asahi Shimbun, By YURI OIWA, 25 Nov 12 “……..for children, who are deemed more susceptible to radiation exposure than adults, the increases varied sharply depending on the location.

The incidence rate for 1-year-old girls in Namie for developing thyroid cancer by the age of 16 grew 9.1 times from 0.004 percent before the accident to 0.037 percent, according to the WHO report. That means 3.7 1-year-old girls out of 10,000 living in the town will
develop thyroid cancer, compared with 0.4 girls before the accident.

For 1-year-old boys in Namie, the likelihood of developing leukemia was predicted to go up 1.8 times from 0.03 percent before the accident.

The thyroid cancer rate for 1-year-olds in Iitate, another town near the stricken nuclear plant, grew 5.9 times, while the rate in the prefectural capital of Fukushima increased 3.7 times.

The risks posed to fetuses were considered the same as those for 1-year-olds.

The report also said the chances of young people exposed to low-level radiation developing benign tumors or cysts will likely rise, and it urged continued monitoring of their health even though the tumors and cysts are unlikely to become cancerous…..
Some health experts hailed the WHO report for spelling out the health risks in numbers.

Residents in Fukushima Prefecture became skeptical of the repeated reassurances by the central government and the Fukushima prefectural government that their health would probably not be affected if their radiation exposure was 100 millisieverts or less.

November 26, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Japan