FUKUSHIMA--A member of the public living near the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was exposed to more than 14 times the government’s safe annual limit of radiation, the Fukushima prefectural government announced Dec. 13.
FUKUSHIMA--A member of the public living near the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was exposed to more than 14 times the government’s safe annual limit of radiation, the Fukushima prefectural government announced Dec. 13.A study of the external radiation exposure of 1,727 people living in Fukushima’s Iitate, Namie and Kawamata municipalities in the four months following the nuclear accident found that 63 percent of the study subjects had exposure levels under 1 millisievert, the annual maximum in normal situations.About 23 percent were exposed to 1 millisievert of radiation, and 8 percent recorded 2 millisieverts. Thirty-eight people had exposure levels of between 5 and 10 millisieverts, and four exceeded 10 millisieverts.The highest level recorded among ordinary citizens was 14.5 millisieverts, but an individual whose response to the survey indicated employment at a nuclear power plant was found to have a radiation exposure level of 37.4 millisieverts.A total of 138 of those studied either worked at a nuclear power plant or were radiation technicians. The figures excluded normal background radiation.Shunichi Yamashita, vice president of Fukushima Medical University and head of a prefectural government committee on residents’ health, said: "We feel these figures do not mean there are effects on human health. However, we are not sure what the effects are of radioactive iodine, which has a short half-life, so it will be important to monitor the health of residents over the long term, including checking the thyroid gland."The estimates of radiation exposure levels will be used as a basis for analysis over the next 30 years of the health effects of the nuclear accident on Fukushima Prefecture’s approximately 2 million residents.There was no significant variation in exposure level due to age. The subjects of the study will be informed of their results by the end of the year.The prefectural government also released estimates of external radiation exposure levels based on 18 patterns of evacuation after the nuclear accident to help residents whose results have yet to be calculated to assess their likely exposure.The estimated exposure levels range between 0.18 and 19 millisieverts, depending on individuals’ movements after leaving their homes. The estimates will be published on the Fukushima prefectural government's website.(This article was written by Yoshinori Hayashi and Yuri Oiwa.)