nuclear-news

Nuclear emergency guidelines on thyroid radiation exposure under review in Japan

Nuclear emergency guidelines on thyroid radiation exposure under review in Japan,  Japan News, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 17 May, 21

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) plans to establish a system for measuring thyroid gland radiation levels of nearby residents in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear power plant accident, during a review of the government’s nuclear emergency response guidelines being undertaken this fiscal year.

Revisions will likely include a requirement to measure radiation levels of children under the age of 18 and pregnant women, who are most vulnerable to radiation exposure………

Officials are particularly concerned about areas where radiation levels reach 500 microsieverts per hour, which requires immediate evacuation, and those where levels continuously exceed 20 microsieverts per hour, which requires temporary relocation.

The NRA is considering mainly targeting children under the age of 18, pregnant women and nursing mothers in such areas.

Radioactive iodine-131 released in a nuclear accident halves in about eight days, highlighting the importance of taking measurements immediately after an accident to determine radiation exposure levels.

However, the measurement target until now was unclear and the response system and equipment were insufficient………. only about 1,000 of the 370,000 children under the age of 18 in Fukushima Prefecture have had their thyroid gland radiation levels measured.  https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007405020

May 18, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Japan