nuclear-news

Physical. mental, social effects of Fukushima radiation

 doctors told the women there was no way to determine if
the symptoms were caused by radiation. But the women saw other
patients with similar symptoms at doctors’ offices, Maeshima says.

“They went through a tremendous amount of stress and those symptoms
can be caused by stress,” she says. “There may be a direct impact from
radiation, but no one, no doctor, can tell.

Md. woman sees long-term effects of radiation in Fukushima, WTOP 30 Dec 12,
“……..Maeshima was a school nurse for 25 years in Japan. Relying on
that experience, she has been volunteering for about a year at Mano
Elementary School in Minami Soma City, which was forced to evacuate
after the nuclear plant accident. She sees a range of issues among
children.

“Some struggle to gain weight while others gain too much and become
overweight,” she says. “Insomnia and frequent headaches are causing
some kids to miss school.”

It’s not so much that she sees the physical injuries from radiation.
Instead, she sees children’s lives turned upside down.

“As expected, all children are mentally stressed,” Maeshima says.
“They do look fine, but as I learn more about their family situations,
I feel for them.”

Challenges for the community

In her renewed role of school nurse, Maeshima counsels her 47
elementary school students displaced by the nuclear accident.

“More than half of the kids now live in temporary housing after losing
their homes in the tsunami or escaping from the nuclear power plant,”
she says. The tsunami washed away the school building and more than
half of the students moved away after the evacuation order. The school
is now in a temporary building shared with another school just outside
of the evacuation zone.

For those who remain in the community, the challenges are enormous and
children are faced with family lives that are upended…..
Unintended consequences on children’s health

To protect residents from radiation, the government put a strict
limitation on time spent outdoors. Many children in Fukushima were
cooped up indoors for more than a year.

The limitation’s unexpected consequences caught Maeshima by surprise
on a school field trip. As students of Mano Elementary School walked
to a nearby facility less than two miles away, she noticed many of
them were out of breath.

“Their stamina has declined quite a bit,” she says…….
Maeshima has been volunteering since January at the elementary school
in Fukushima, which is under the evacuation zone near the crippled
nuclear power plant. Some of the mothers told Maeshima that they lost
hair within six months of the plant meltdown and subsequent release of
radiation.

“Their hair started falling out,” she says. “They were almost bald.
They told me they were wearing wigs.”

An office administrator at her school, a 26-year-old woman, reported
that her throat had started to hurt and her lymph nodes had started to
swell.

In both cases, doctors told the women there was no way to determine if
the symptoms were caused by radiation. But the women saw other
patients with similar symptoms at doctors’ offices, Maeshima says.

“They went through a tremendous amount of stress and those symptoms
can be caused by stress,” she says. “There may be a direct impact from
radiation, but no one, no doctor, can tell.”…. Maeshima has been
volunteering since January at the elementary school in Fukushima,
which is under the evacuation zone near the crippled nuclear power
plant. Some of the mothers told Maeshima that they lost hair within
six months of the plant meltdown and subsequent release of radiation.

“Their hair started falling out,” she says. “They were almost bald.
They told me they were wearing wigs.”

“They went through a tremendous amount of stress and those symptoms
can be caused by stress,” she says. “There may be a direct impact from
radiation, but no one, no doctor, can tell.” http://www.wtop.com/46/3176017/Md-woman-sees-long-term-effects-of-radiation-in-Fukushima

December 31, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2012, health, Japan, social effects