Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Asahi: Now almost 100,000 Fukushima kids with thyroid problems, parents concerned — Whether that’s “alarmingly high” it’s difficult to say

ENENEWS energy news reports:

The Fukushima prefectural government [...] survey found that 40 percent of 96,000 or so children for whom test results are available developed thyroid gland problems, such as nodules, or lumps, and cysts. [...]

Despite parental concerns about radiation exposure, it remains difficult to say with any certainty whether the 40-percent occurrence rate is alarmingly high or not. This is because no exhaustive thyroid gland tests have been done on children using highly reliable ultrasound technology.

The Environment Ministry commissioned the Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology to conduct thyroid gland checkups on 4,500 children aged 18 or under in three prefectures outside Fukushima.

[...] Nagasaki Prefecture was chosen as a study area partly because of its remoteness from Fukushima as well as the absence of obvious health issues stemming from the nuclear disaster and the presence of experts in thyroid gland testing. The Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology also plans to carry out similar tests in Yamanashi and Aomori prefectures. [...]

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