FukushimaVoice

An Appeal from a Fukushima Woman: A Young Girl Died of Leukemia. Please Investigate What Is Happening in Fukushima

2013-04-28T16:44:00.002-05:00

From a weekly protest gathering outside the Prime Minister’s official residence.
On April 12, 2013.　

Good evening, everyone.

I used to live 1.2 km from Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP.

I evacuated with only the clothes on my back.

Currently I am staying in Minato Ward.

On the 6th day of last month, I went to Namie-machi, which was the next town over.

Can you people imagine how it really was?

Prime Minister Abe also went there to take a look the other day.

In my friend’s house, there were thirteen dead rats, 30-cm long.

Their feces were almost 1 cm in diameter. These huge feces were everywhere.
They had chewed on everything including the pillar.

Why didn’t Prime Minister Abe see such a place?
He should see the inside of houses, if he is going to take a look.

Before cancelling the evacuation order, please rebuild water and power system, roads, supermarekt, dentists and hospitals.

Even if we can return, nobody will return.
The situation is beyod imagination.
Also, the press should research the issue about Fukushima.

Not too long ago, a young woman died of leukemia.
I heard that younger people began to wear masks immediately.
Why didn’t the government urge them to wear masks earlier?

In addition, many people, young and old have died of heart attacks.

Therefore, the press should hurry and do good researches within Fukushima Prefecture before reporting.

I myself is opposed to nuclear power plants. We have suffered so much.
Everyone, please do not allow the restart.
Please.

Shunichi Yamashita’s 311 Speech at the NCRP Meeting

2013-04-07T21:33:00.003-05:00

Shunichi Yamashita was in the United States on March 11, 2013, giving a keynote address at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. http://www.ncrponline.org/

The video of the address was transcribed, word for word as much as possible, so that it might be translated into Japanese.

The original English transcript is published below for those interested in knowing what Yamashita said. The image of each slide is followed by what he said about it.

*****

10th Annual Warren K. Sinclair Keynote Address: Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident and Comprehensive Health Risk Management
Shunichi Yamashita, M.D., Ph.D.

Video for Yamashita’s lecture at the March 11 NCRP annual meeting:
http://echo.colostate.edu:8080/ess/echo/presentation/d6ddb666-85bd-48a3-8d83-a691910906be

PowerPoint slides:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3fFCVXEJlbvWmJRTlZXSTJhS28/edit

*****

Slide 1

Slide 2

The recording apparently began in the middle of Slide 2.

Slide 2: (….) many countries and international organizations, just after Great East Japan Earthquakes, especially from the United State, Operation Tomodachi, worked very well for the Japanese.

Slide 3

Slide 3: Today I would like to present the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident and the comprehensive health risk management. Because as John introduce my career, I originally from Nagasaki, you know, Hiroshima/Nagasaki. We were working for a long time to help the survivors. I am also deeply committed to Chernobyl project since 1991.

Just after the Fukushima accident, I have been dispatched from Nagasaki University to Fukushima to assist not only emergency radiation medicine but established for the residents’ health care and also the health management. Therefore, today’s my talk is merely to focusing on Chernobyl issues and Fukushima’s health management survey problem.

Slide 4

Slide 4: As all of you know, the health effect are simply categorized by acute effects and late effect. It depend on the dose. We know the importance of dose. How much dose received? But in general speaking, people they don’t know. For example, nuclear reactors accident don’t equal A-bomb survivors datas such as acute radiations at all. This may confuse in the current situation in Fukushima. So we need carefully think about differentiate the deterministic effect, it’s a kind of the large amount of radiation exposure. But today I will talk about mainly low-dose radiation effect, so-called stochastic effect.

Slide 5

Slide 5: However, it’s very difficult to explain to the public what is the stochastic effect. Even a long time, RERF, Radiation Effect Research Foundation Hiroshima/Nagasaki, was working very hard for A-bomb survivors’ data, and also we working a long time in Chernobyl, but this is limitation of low-dose epidemiological studies exist. It means limitation of science to contribution to risk assessment for the uncertainty exists because of no direct evidence of radiation-induced cancer.

Slide 6

Slide 6: However, we already know very good data by radiation epidemiologies. Especially today I would like to concentrate on the thyroid carcinogenesis. Exposure of radiation on thyroid of young age is a most clearly defined environmental factor associated with thyroid cancer, either by external or internal radiation exposure, on the basis of large cohort study of A-bomb survivors and also in Chernobyl. These two slides show dose-response relationship between thyroid dose and relative risk of thyroid cancer, either external or internal. Very similar tendency because there is a unit of the Sievert, means equal or equivalent biological effect either external or internal. So we know more than 100 mSv can cause increase of thyroid cancer in dose-responsive manner.

Slide 7

Slide 7: About half of my presentation I would like to concentrate what really we learned from Chernobyl and how to apply lesson learned from Chernobyl to Fukushima. Very sadly, at the time of Chernobyl accident in 1986, it was a Cold War age. The world was divided east and west. This is really man-made disaster. And very unfortunately public protection against short-lived radioactive iodines and greater internal exposure subsequently occurred by radioactive cesium. Both were through food chain and drink, were not inhibited or controlled very well. And then eventually, December 1991 former Soviet Union has collapsed. The people suffered a lot from the Chernobyl. Impact of psychosocial and mental consequences were so huge when we worked at the time 1991, so there were confusion and the myth inside of Chernobyl. We learned a lot of things.

Slide 8

Slide 8: As all of you know, this is a map of radioactive cesium 137 contaminated entire European region, compared to the Japan, Japanese map. Just after the Fukushima accident, people were worried too much Fukushima may become similar to Chernobyl. But that’s not right. Of course, there is a big difference between Chernobyl and Fukushima. However, very much similarity also exists between Chernobyl and Fukushima, so-called psychosocial and mental impact. Very sadly we are now in the middle of this kind of the confusion in Fukushima.

Slide 9

Slide 9: This map shown on the estimated average thyroid dose to children and adolescents around Chernobyl reported by UNSCEAR 2008. Chernobyl accident occurred 1986 this kind of the slide available more than 20 years later, because radioactive iodine to the thyroid was very much difficult to be examined and evaluated. According to this map, average dose of children who suffered in these area was around 500 mSv. At those exposures very, very important to consider the late effect of radiation.

Slide 10

Slide 10: According to such kinds of the data available later, and we also encountered in 1990, 1992, rapid increase of childhood thyroid cancer. This is depict mainly the Belarussian data, age less than 14 years old, 15-19, 20-24. Then on the year by year, the peak of the childhood thyroid cancer shifted from infant, adolescent, and young adult. Because the target of children who developed thyroid cancer by age less than 10 years old. Especially the age less than five. Because later we realized our children drank contaminated milk just after Chernobyl accident.

Slide 11

Slide 11: However, as I said in the previous slide for the UNSCEAR data, it is almost impossible to evaluate real thyroid dose by radioactive iodine. Because of the half life of 8 days, it immediately disappeared. When we entered Chernobyl in 1991, no radioactive iodine exist. So therefore we compared the children’s incidence of thyroid cancer between age at the time of 0 to 3 years old and age after that they born just after the accident. Very interestingly, the children who were born at the time of the accident, 0 to 3 years old, is highly prevalent of thyroid cancer. But after accident one years laters, no increase of thyroid cancer observed. So this is another direct evidence, but indirect evidence of thyroid cancer may caused by radioactive iodine. Fortunately, they are still living at the contamination of radioactive situations, but no increase of other significant cancers in those children. However, in Fukushima, the people worried too much of radioactive iodine and also radioactive cesium may cause any kind of the cancer. We deny such kind of data based on the Chernobyl, however, the public perception so-called misunderstanding prevailed entire Japan.

Slide 12

Slide 12: According to other joint project on the case control studies, it's also clearly shown the increase of thyroid cancer by in dose-responsibly by radioactive iodine. These data also reconfirmed by United States and Belarus and United States-Ukranian cohort project recently. This is really important to understand the dose-responsiveness of how much they received thyroid dosing.

Slide 13

Slide 13: Compared to the Chernobyl datas and in upper panels, I mentioned averaged in doses of about 500 mSv thyroid dose. In Japan, fortunately, just after the accident, March 24th to 30, 180 children were measured directly by NaI counters, and almost all were less than 1 mSv. So this is very good news. However, this is too small number of the childrens. We need carefully to follow those who were evacuated from the Fukushima area.

Slide 14

Slide 14: And also another important factor is iodine concentration in the thyroid. Fukushima and Chernobyl is completely different. In land of Chernobyl are chronically iodine deficient areas and then received radioactive iodine. However, Fukushima is already saturated, compared to the Fukushima, such kind of thyroid iodine dose. So iodine also another important factor. Unfortunately in Japan, such kind of the iodine thyroid-blocking was not effectively administrated by the Japanese government. However, the doses are so small. So we don’t need to worry too much about radioactive iodine to the thyroid gland.

Slide 15

Slide 15: According to the three countries including Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, same tendency of increase of child thyroid cancer are reported. The different age group, children, adolescent and young adult. Three countries summarized also showed now the peak of the thyroid cancers were shifted from children, to adolescent and finally recently to the adult. Even one-time exposure just after the Chernobyl accident, the risk has continued especially for the younger children. We need to clarify the mechanisms of biological effects of this kind of the radiation-induced thyroid cancers.

Slide 16

Slide 16: In conclusion of the good radiation epidemiological studies indicated the several important point, especially dose-response relationship between 100 mSv up to 2,000 mSv. Especially younger age is at the exposure is a risk factors. Latency occur, probably from 4 to 5 years even in childrens. Iodine deficiency increases the risks. And below 100 mSv it’s very hard to detect any increase of thyroid cancer. No increase in cancer incidence in population with less than based on 100 mSv the past 25 years. Besides this kind of the Chernobyl children’s datas, emergency workers data suggest less than 150 mSv, there are no increase in cancer incidence. This is exactly we learn from Chernobyl. However, Fukushima, very difficult even we are using this kind of the evidence, a fact, but people cannot accept this kind of the data.

Slide 17

Slide 17: On the basis of the Chernobyl Thyroid Tissue Banks, we also categorizing what is the direct signature or relationship between radiation exposure and thyroid carcinogenesis. 1998 to 1999 we have established that kind of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank together with Russia, when originally Belarussian involved, but now it flopped. So now we have collected more than 3,000 cases of thyroid diseases in this tissue banks. Using this tissue bank, we are now analyzing pathological and clinical characteristic of Chernobyl papillary thyroid cancers in comparison with spontaneous thyroid cancer.

Slide 18

Slide 18: Very much difference exists on the pathological finding of Chernobyl-related papillary thyroid cancer as it’s closely related age dependences. Young children has very unique papillary thyroid cancers histologically in comparison with other papillary thyroid cancers. We learned a lot of things: time-related trends of childhood thyroid cancers and age-related trend of thyroid cancer. However, a risk of thyroid cancer such as recurrences are a lot different between two groups, spontaneous-occurring and radiation-induced thyroid cancer. This kind of the hint also gave us a very important position when we started Fukushima health medical survey programs including thyroid ultrasound examination in children in Fukushima.

Slide 19

Slide 19: As you may know, the mechanism of thyroid cancer now clearly characterized using the different genetic abnormality. Mainly papillary thyroid cancer occur in the pathway somewhere from RET-RAS-BRAF-MEK-ERK MAP kinase activities are over-activated by somewhere the point of mutation or rearrangement. This is very unique case to learn the mechanisms of papillary thyroid cancer carcinogenesis.

Slide 20

Slide 20: We also clearly find, through the mutational events, the time different, from the Chernobyl, what kind of the genetic abnormality exists in Chernobyl. I show in the left panel the latency is very clearly occurred. Difference of characteristic of the Chernobyl thyroid gene abnormality, such as the first younger children’s and shorter latencies predominantly express rearrangement of RET/PTC3 and RET/PTC1. This is a gene arrangement and just by DNA double-strand breaks. However longer latencies and also older age showed a high frequency of BRAF point mutation. Even the same type of papillary thyroid cancer, genetic background are completely different between two groups, children and adults papillary thyroid cancer. Similar tendency also opens up in Japanese A-bomb survivors, reported by RERF. So this is also very important to seek for the mechanisms of radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

Slide 21

Slide 21: However, the same radiation exposed for those children, only a small part of those children occur thyroid cancer. Majority of the children never occur thyroid cancer. So we have focused on two qualifying molecular epidemiological studies on thyroid cancer are shown in this slide. We collected nearly 1,000 childhood thyroid cancer samples, it’s a blood, with each bar indicates approximately 30 persons exists in these areas, Belarus, Ukraine and Russian Federation, together with controls in same areas. We collected more than 1,000 cases and more than 1,000 control cases.

Slide 22

Slide 22: And then GWAs indicated very clear tendencies of cancer-susceptibility genes, and this FOXE1 chromosome 9. This is FOXE1, a thyroid-specific transcription factor 2. And also we confirmed other related genes. Interestingly, those genetic background SNPs abnormalities highly expressed in Chernobyl thyroid cancer.

Slide 23

Slide 23: Our final analysis is clearly indicates a big difference between cases and controls, control now nearly 2,000 cases.

Slide 24

Slide 24: We have reported already 2010 this type of the FOXE1 is a major genetic determinant for radiation-related thyroid cancer in Chernobyl. Of course, those children who develop thyroid cancer carried not only radiation-specific SNP types but also sporadic SNP types were overlapped in two groups. Not only radiation but also genetic susceptibility of thyroid carcinogenesis based on the common genetic background are very important in addition to environmental factor such as radiation.

Slide 25　

Slide 25: So we now then concentrated on the other population, not only European people but also Japanese people. Similar tendencies of this SNPs abnormality exist thyroid carcinogenesis FOXE1. So now we know, realize the FOXE1 is one of the candidate gene for thyroid carcinogenesis. This is also very unique finding to follow extensively to the Fukushima area.

Slide 26

Slide 26: Now the second part of my presentation I would like to concentrate on Great East Japan Earthquakes. Just two years ago it happened. Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant accident. It’s really multidimensional disaster in Fukushima. In Fukushima, among 20,000 were killed by the Great East Japan Earthquake, 1,600 died and 202 missing in Fukushima. In addition, more than 1,000 dead were disaster-related deaths. It means during evacuation time or after evacuated time. Even though there were no acute radiation injury, there were deaths due to evacuation. It’s really sad situation. And how to prepare for the medical response are also very important to think about this kind of the disaster-related death.

Slide 27

Slide 27: As all you know, Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant has completely lost the electricity by tsunami. Fortunately, after earthquake everything had stopped. So we failed to continuous cooling without any electricity back-up.

Slide 28

Slide 28: Japanese government ordered immediately evacuation and sheltering. According to this slide, March 11, March 12, March 15, going to 3km, then 10km, from 10km to 20km even after they wanted and the value is 20 km. Between 20-30 km were indoor, house evacuated were recommended on March 15. Then we received massive fallout from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

Slide 29

Slide 29: And then eventually the areas are contaminated as shown in this slide. Airborne monitoring April 29th, and also monitoring points were shown in this slide μSv. Red one showed more than 19 μSv/h, blue one less than 1 μSv/h. This situation is not continuing. And two years later the accident, very fortunately, almost half levels of each, because of the radioactive cesium 134 very slowly influenced in the half-life of 2 years. So therefore almost half level from the beginning airborne monitoring data are decreased in Fukushima.

Slide 30

Slide 30: This nuclear reactor accident is not horrific disaster. It’s exactly industrial crisis and environmental damages. And government ordered evacuation and sheltering, it worked sufficiently. Therefore the dose exposed for the population are dramatically decreased after evacuations. However, there are many problems exist such as nuclear worker, operational staff, and emergency response personnel also exposed to certain levels of radiation. Since there are much concern about the levels of exposure and effects both on general public and workers, we are prepared to collect and offer further information to the world.

Slide 30

Slide 31: Public concern is major issues. They worry about long-term health effect of radioactive contamination. Especially they are sparking anger, anxiety and distrust toward the government handling, even we experts are targeted from the public and the mass media. Bans of food shipments from contaminated areas, too much anxiety about food safety are ruining farmers’ livelihoods and raise another concerns about their ability to resume their livelihoods. The role of experts and academic societies are important but reliabilities and credibility both were lost by confusion and misunderstanding partly due to an inappropriate and immature media literacy.

Slide 32

Slide 32: I was dispatched March 18, one weeks after the accident here in Fukushima Medical University. They worked very hard to support the evacuees. But, the bed is about 800, the staff is more than 100-1,500, They were very much concerned and afraid, almost they are also escaping from this university, 60 km distance from the Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Slide 33

Slide 34

Slides 33-34: So we worked together with them to respond to earthquake and tsunami victims and also large-scale patient transfer and also screen the people who were received radiation fallout. There were many rooms for improvement, however, the medical staff even Self-Defense or the firemen and policemen worked very, very much hard from the beginning.

Slide 35

Slide 35: And finally, this kind of the map are shown entire Japan, mainly focusing on Fukushima and the neighboring prefecture.

Slide 36

Slide 36: Now the targeted area around 30 km zone. Within 20 km we call “Restricted Area.” But even the west and north areas from the Namie to Iitate-mura we call “Deliberate Evacuation Areas.” Also the people evacuated from these contaminated areas.

Slide 37

Slide 37: According to the preliminary data by WHO, their estimated last May, how much they received in population in Fukushima. This is very conservative and theoretical data from people who were continuously residing first four months and then eating contaminated food. It’s very much theoretical, not far beyond the reality to the public. And this is very important to consider how much they received the dose. Simultaneously Fukushima plant workers also measured in this type of the studies. More than 200 mSv received workers exists. This is really important target for long-term health monitoring especially needed for those people.

Slide 38

Slide 38: Now in Fukushima are categorized these areas. Restricted Area about 77,000 evacuate. Deliberate Evacuation Area is about 10,000. Evacuation Prepared Area, 26,000. A total about 113 are evacuated in these areas. Besides these areas, within 30 km, total 210,000 are evacuated. So this is very big serious problem in Fukushima. Fukushima Prefecture’s entire populations is 2 million. So about 10% are relocated to whatever places in Fukushima Prefecture.

Slide 39

Slide 39: So we are now facing a very difficult part, how to countermeasure, how to work together with them. Today I skip plant workers, emergency responder, we only concentrate on residents who were evacuated but still staying in Fukushima. They receive chronic low-dose and also they are everyday exposed to stress/fear for risks. Unfortunately, there are shortages of education, still communication very difficult, still information never realized as accurate sources, and also many rumors of image of negative contamination are prepared in these areas.

Slide 40

Slide 40: Fukushima disaster causes uncertain health effects, but not acute. Really something occurred in Fukushima. Exactly psychological, mental effects are already observed. Anxieties, anger, sleep disturbance, post-traumatic stress, so on. Because they are still residing existing radiation dose area. So there are no choice we must take care of those people who are suffering from this stress.

Slide 41

Slide 41: So we decided to start the Fukushima Health Management Survey progams. Just two months after the accident, May 2011, to set up to this type of the unprecedented health management program targeting for 2 million populations for almost whole lifespan.

Slide 42

Slide 42: The design of the health management is divided to two. A basic survey is very important to evaluate the external radiation doses the first four months and then simultaneously to give or to have services on the basis of further examination of targeted population who were evacuated mainly from the contaminated areas, around 210,000 populations.

Slide 43

Slide 43: This slide shows outline of Fukushima Health Management Survey. This survey we are targeting 2 million population, entire population. And the detailed survey are divided four: thyroid ultrasound examination, comprehensive medical checkups, mental health and lifestyle survey, and then survey of pregnant women and nursing mother. From zero we have established this type of the survey program together with Fukushima Medical University. So therefore, our know-how from Hiroshima/Nagasaki and also from Chernobyl very much helpful for this kind of the organizations and starting of the program.

Slide 44

Slide 44: Aim is very clear. The people suffer, have anxiety and anger, have to calm down. We need to monitor for long-term health condition. This is the message to local residents. And then simultaneously we must scientifically and epidemiologically clarify to the low-dose long-term radiation effect on the human health.

Slide 45

Slide 45: Basic survey means collect the record of the memory by the questionnaire and then analyze to the specialized airborne, environmental radiation doses together with the such kind of the questionnaire. Very complicated.

Slide 46

Slide 46: From March 11 to July 11, we have there on the how to move, such kind of the daily movement recorded from responding to this kind of the questionnaires.

Slide 47

Slide 47: And simultaneously time-course of airborne dose map analyzed, especially developed by NIRS, and then such kinds of the data gave us formal external radiation doses.

Slide 48

Slide 48: Very importantly, the distribution of external radiation exposure are already reported for the first four months targeting about 14,000 persons who are relatively highly exposed areas, Kawamata, Namie, Iitate districts. Almost all are less than 10 mSv, and many people are less than 3 mSv for first four months.

Slide 49

Slide 49: Recently we are reported more than 386,000 operations datas. According to these datas, estimated to local time-course of the questionnaire, external exposure dose is less than 1 mSv, 2 mSv, almost all are 5 mSv. This is a very good news for the Fukushima local residents. Fukushima now exists very low doses compared to the Hiroshima/Nagasaki and Chernobyl.

Slide 50

Slide 50: So it’s very difficult in future to confirm any increase of radiation-induced cancer through stochastic effect. However, we must continue this kind of the monitoring and also health management program.

Slide 51

Slide 52

Slides 51−52: Secondly, we are focusing on different target operations, childrens and women and other. Now I would like shortly introduce risk of radioactive iodine on thyroid in Fukushima. We are now decided age less than 18 years old, about 360,000, all children will be examined by thyroid ultrasound screening. Because of a strong pressure from the mother, the local government, and also central government. We are now started very much sophisticated first screening using the ultrasound, and then if abnormality found, second screening. Age from 0 to 18 years old. It’s the first time, except Chernobyl, we are now doing this kind of this studies.

Slide５３−５８

Yamashita went through these slides of thyroid ultrasound images as he kept talking. What he said in that time period is transcibed below, and each slide is accompanied by an applicable clause, in correct English, from Yamashita’s statement if any.

Slides 53-58: And then to find many abnormality in normal children, such as cyst, nodules, or even we can clarify ectopic or residual thymus in children within the thyroid gland. That kind of the finding are easily misdiagnosed as thyroid cancer. So therefore this is very important to clarify or make the guideline of this kind of the childhood thyroid gland using the ultrasound.

Also many cysts also discovered in children. Such kind of the small cysts, colloid clot, also discover, even 3 years old girl shows this kind of the small cysts. This is natural, spontaneously changing findings of the childrens. However, mothers very much worry in Fukushima such kind of the finding is discovered it may be due to radiation exposed by Fukushima. But before that we have never screened this kind of the thyroid for the entire childrens.

Slide 53 Many cysts and colloid clots were discovered in children.

Slide 54

Residual or ectopic thymus might be visualized by ultrasound, which might be easily misdiagnosed as thyroid cancer.

Slide 55　Many cysts and colloid clots were discovered in children.

Slide 56　Many cysts and colloid clots were discovered in children.

Slide 57　A 3-year-old girl with an A2 assessment (small cysts). These are natural findings in children which would change spontaneously. However, when such findings are discovered in Fukushima, mothers worry a lot whether they were caused by radiation exposure from the Fukushima accident.

Slide 58　Childhood thyroid cancer and thymus. (Yamashita did not explain this slide in particular).

Slide 59

Slide 59: This is the recent result of thyroid ultrasound survey. We are categorized A means normal, but A completely normal not specific finding we divide it A1. Small cysts or nodules also we say A2. B, the nodules more than 5 mm or cysts more than 20 mm may introduce to the recommendation of second screening. According to the 133,000 children screening datas, we have found 99.5% the normal, but 0.5% of the abnormal, 3 clarified by second screening. This is the first data. So but this is very important to realize what is this number.

Slide 60

Slide 60: The first-year screening from October 2011 to the end of the March 2012, they completed about 38,000 childrens second screening. According to these data, nobody realized less than one year since after the accident, they are not related to the Fukushima accident. But the people in public concern very much this kind of the diagnosis of B, even A2, are related to the effect of radiation exposure.

Slide 61

Slide 61: Results of the second examination showed, this second examination means fine-needle aspiration biopsy applied to some part of the thyroid nodule. Among them we have already operated 3 cases of childhood thyroid cancer, and 7 cases of malignancy are suspected in these area.

Slide 62

Slide 62: According to these data, everybody was surprised because this is Japanese thyroid cancer incidence, each 5 years, each 5 years are shown in blue bar. This is a cancer death rate. (showing the bottom insert) Incidence of thyroid cancer is very rare in childrens. Of course, this is true. But we started the screening in this less than 18 years old. Very much high increase of the thyroid cancers, even asymptomatic children. We are facing very much difficulties not to radiation but also this kind of the medical examination.

Slide 63

Slide 63: Now the bad news. We have a sensational news. “Over a third of Fukushima children at risk of developing cancer.” “Fukushima kids have skyrocketing number of

thyroid abnormalities.” We are being attacked by them. But this type of the mass screening activities in Fukushima led to an increase in the incidence of thyroid nodules/cysts, even cancers due to early detection of non-symptomatic cases. It is not be possible to compare the future observed thyroid cancer incidence with figures of any previous report, as the baseline risk changes due to the screening activity. We need explain carefully many times to the operations.

Slide 64

Slide 64: I also just introduced the small result of what we have done health checkups. Among 210,000, 70,000 children and adult examined, and very unfortunately, obesity and hyperlipidemia conditions increased in these evacuated people because of shortage of exercise.

Slide 65

Slide 65: And that also mental health care and lifestyle survey indicated that children and adults such kind of stress. For example, in children school performance changes, irritations, anxiety, depression, and still sensitive to earthquake and radiations. In adults, there are many cases of sleep disturbances, depression, fear of futures, agitation, discount of evacuation life. It’s a really acute phase reaction. We don’t know how long they continue. How we can intervent or care all those people.

Slide 66

Slide 66: And even pregnant women are very much concerned. But very fortunately, in Japan, there are neither any increase of miscarriage nor artificial abortions. It’s very good news. There is no obvious increased prevalence rate of congenital malformations. So we need to announce and also explain such kind of the datas.

Slide 67

Slide 67: So therefore, in Fukushima Medical University opened out to the English website Fukushima Radiation and Health, and then communicating not only to the public also into the world experts or world societies.

Slide 68

Slide 68: Finally, what we learn from Fukushima. Too early to conclude anything, but we have discussing a lot after Fukushima. First, emergency planning zone and protective action guideline should be changed. And potassium iodine (KI) policy, today I skipped, are now discussing a lot. And thirdly, most difficult part, how to communicate to the public and how to protect the public from radiation and radiation phobia. Finally, reentry and recovery policy still lacking, even we are following ICRP 101. However, in the Fukushima, it’s very difficult to communicate to the public. I really wish to cooperate with NCRP and international organizations targeting on the research/education for risk analysis, risk communication, risk management, and so on.

Slide 69

Slide 69: Once again, I would like to say thank you very much for your support to the Fukushima, and also it’s a very much honor to give a such kind of the special lecture to all of you. Thank you very much.

*****

NCRP President Boice: Yes, I certainly would like to thank Dr. Yamashita for one of the most informative and excellent presentations I’ve ever heard both on summarizing the Chernobyl experience with regard to thyroid and then bringing us up to literally to date on what’s happening around Fukushima. I mean, this is up to the minute information.

The biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the pale grass blue butterfly

2013-04-02T17:20:00.000-06:00

The biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the pale grass blue

butterfly

Atsuki Hiyama1*, Chiyo Nohara1*, Seira Kinjo1, Wataru Taira1, Shinichi Gima2, Akira Tanahara2 & Joji M. Otaki1

PDF LINK
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B68f83tqq7QuQkh5bWthU2JPMFk/edit?usp=sharing

The Ministry of the Environment Thyroid Survey Follow-up: A Comparison Study or Not?

2013-04-02T15:17:00.000-06:00

This is a follow-up report to the article below:

http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-ministry-of-environment-thyroid.html

On March 29, 2013, the Ministry of the Environment released a detailed report of the “Study of the presence of thyroid findings in three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture,” following a March 8 release of the preliminary report. This study is referred to as the “MOE thyroid survey” in the analysis section.

The MOE thyroid survey was conducted in order to find out the incidence of thyroid nodules and cysts in children in areas not affected by radiation contamination due to the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Complete translation of the official report is followed by an analysis of data provided.

Original report in Japanese is found at this link: http://www.env.go.jp/press/press.php?serial=16520

*****
March 29, 2013 (Heisei 25)

Announcement in regards to the result of the study of the presence of thyroid findings in three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture.

As the fiscal year Heisei 24 (2012) project, the Ministry of the Environment implemented thyroid ultrasound examinations on a given number of individuals in three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture due to the fact that about 40% have findings of small cysts, etc., (so-called A2 assessment) in the thyroid examination of the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey conducted by Fukushima Prefecture. We would like to report our results.

Results of the study of the presence of thyroid findings in three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture

1. Background and purpose of the study

In the thyroid examination of the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey by Fukushima Prefecture, about 40% have findings such as small cysts less than 20.0mm in size (*1). These small cysts (*1) do not need any further detailed examination, but we have been told that the inclusion of such small findings in the result has created anxiety among residents.

This type of a large scale, sophisticated ultrasound examination is the first such attempt in the world, and not much accurate information exists in regards to the frequency of thyroid cysts in children as well as the potential variability that may be seen in the result.

Under such circumstances, the Ministry of the Environment decided to conduct an ultrasound examination survey (*2), similar to the one conducted as part of the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey, in children from three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture. The purposes of this survey is to promote the understanding by the residents and provide information in regards to the validity of the result.

(*1) Meaning cysts without solid components.
(*2) Thyroid ultrasound examination conducted in this survey is a screening examination, not intended for diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

2. Summary of the survey

(1) Survey period
November 2012 to March 2013

(2) Survey contractor
The Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology

(3) Survey areas and the number of subjects surveyed

(4) Survey method
○ Conduct thyroid ultrasound examination in the subjects with the same standard as the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey.
○ Findings will be assessed with the same guideline followed by the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey. Frequency of thyroid abnormalities such as cysts will be calculated in surveyed areas.

3. Survey results: summary

(1) All surveyed areas: summary

[1] Number and proportion of subjects by assessment category
Cysts here means cysts with no solid component.

[2] Number and proportion of subjects for each assessment category (by sex and age)

[3] Number and proportion of subjects who had nodules and/or cysts

(2) Result by surveyed area: summary

Contact information

Yasuo Kiryu
Senior official in charge of Radiation Health Management
Environmental Health Department
Environmental Policy Bureau
Ministry of the Environment
Phone 03-5521-9248 x6375
03-3581-3351

Yoshie Hirose
Assistant to senior official in charge of radiation health department
Phone 03-5521-9248 x6396

*****
Analysis

The MOE thyroid survey was originally intended to be a “comparison” study to the Fukushima thyroid survey, according to a story published by Mainichi Shimbun on August 26, 2012. (A complete translation of this story can be found at this link: http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/08/thyroid-examination-cabinet-office.html)

Oddly, there is no mention of the word “comparison study” anywhere in this report, nor the mention of such terms as “control groups.” In addition, the original story mentioning “comparison study” has been partially erased so that only the last half of the story appears.
http://mainichi.jp/select/news/20120826k0000e040108000c8.html

Yet the news coverage of the March 9th Asahi Shimbun report mentions, “To obtain control data for comparison,” indicating that in the eyes of the media and the general public, this is clearly perceived as a comparison study. (Incidentally, despite the photo of a little girl taking liquid stable iodine, which might suggest the Fukushima children were protected by iodine, only a small group of Fukushima residents actually received iodine. The photo was taken at an evacuation center in Kawamata town, where Futaba town residents had evacuated. Futaba town already had a supply of iodine as a town very close to Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Kawamata town residents, on the other hand, were not given any iodine: rather, the town officials were telling people there was nothing to worry about, which was the perception at the time).
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201303090076

However, the Ministry of the Environment made no effort whatsoever to compare their results to the Fukushima thyroid survey results. Moreover, their presentation of data is not very clear in some cases, despite their alleged intention “to promote the understanding by the residents and provide information in regards to the validity of the result.” An effort was made here to present the MOE data along with the Fukushima data for the ease of comparison in order to help the general public understand what the numbers may or may not mean.

A word of caution is warranted here: whether the MOE thyroid survey constitutes a truly good set of comparison data is another matter. Nevertheless, the data is presented here in a comparative manner for further analysis and interpretation by whoever is interested in this subject matter.

Another critical piece of information regarding the MOE thyroid survey is that the MOE official in charge, Yasuo Kiryu, has an interesting track record, according to a freelance Japanese journalist, Oshidori Mako. Kiryu was in charge of the Special Disease Management Division at the MOE handling the Minamata lawsuits in 2011. Apparently his division demanded that the physician who was asked to be an expert witness for the government lie about the plaintiff having Minamata disease. In other words, the physician intended to testify that the plaintiff indeed had Minamata disease, but Kiryu’s division repeatedly asked the physician to state otherwise. The physician refused and was taken off as an expert witness. The government found another physician to testify, and the plaintiff lost. This was in June 2011. Kiryu became a senior official in charge of Radiation Health Management as of September 2012.
http://news-log.jp/archives/7348/4

*****
1. Background and purpose of the study

MOE’s mentioning of “small cysts less than 20.0 mm” is rather misleading. There is a big difference between a 3.0 mm cyst and an 18.0 mm cyst, and it seems strange to call them “small” collectively. Moreover, MOE did not provide the size distribution of nodules and cysts as the Fukushima thyroid examination does on page 4 of the PDF shown in the link below.

Proceedings of the 10th Committee Meeting for Fukushima Health Management Survey
Thyroid ultrasound examination results
http://www.fmu.ac.jp/radiationhealth/results/media/10-2_ThyroidUE.pdf

2. Summary of the survey

(1) Survey period

November 2012 to March 2013

The actual thyroid ultrasound examination was apparently finished by late January 2013, but it took MOE some time to compile the data to present the results to the parents of the subjects in three different locations.

(2) Survey contractor

The Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology

The survey was commissioned to the Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology (JABTS) apparently after an open bidding process. However, JABTS is one of the seven organizations that were originally involved with setting the guidelines for the Fukushima thyroid ultrasound examination. This was a process that lacked transparency, as explained halfway into this article, immediately below the first two tables: http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/09/regarding-comments-made-by-ippnw.html

Additionally, Shinichi Suzuki, a physician in charge of the Fukushima thyroid examination, is on the board of the JABTS. Does this not represent a conflict of interest?

In addition, according to Oshidori Mako, the actual survey was subcontracted to medical schools and/or hospitals associated with national universities. http://news-log.jp/archives/7348/3

In case of Nagasaki-city, it was confirmed to be Nagasaki University, which is a home base for Shunichi Yamashita, a former vice president of Fukushima Medical University.

(3) Survey areas and the number of subjects surveyed

It is unclear how the three prefectures, Aomori, Yamanashi and Nagasaki, were selected.
For information, this map shows geographical relationships between those prefectures and Fukushima.

As for the selection of the subjects, this also seems to lack transparency, but information from the Internet revealed that they were students at schools associated with national universities. There are kindergartens (age 3-5), elementary schools and middle schools, usually attached to the school of education at some universities. The three prefectures selected have no high schools at national universities, so it is not clear how 16-18 age groups were assembled. Nevertheless, this does not seem to represent a balanced and generalized sample population, not to mention not matching the age groups in Fukushima thyroid examination in terms of the youngest age group not including those under age 3 like Fukushima.

The number of subjects in each age group and the proportion in the subject population is tabulated below along with similar information from Fukushima.

As you can see, total number of the subjects in each of the three prefectures varies. In addition, the age distribution varies widely amongst the three prefectures in the MOE survey and also between them and Fukushima. In particular, age groups 11 to 15 and 16 to 18 are in higher proportions than Fukushima in each of the three, and these are the age groups which have higher proportions of abnormalities.

Information in regards to the sex distribution was not provided for each of the three prefectures in the MOE survey, although it was provided for all three combined.

(4) Survey method

○ Conduct thyroid ultrasound examination in the subjects with the same standard as the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey.
○ Findings will be assessed with the same diagnostic guideline followed by the Prefectural Resident Health Management Survey. Frequency of thyroid abnormalities such as cysts will be calculated in surveyed areas.

Unlike objective tests such as blood tests which can be standardized by using similar machines, similar methods and similar calibrations, ultrasound examination interpretation might be more influenced by examiners’ subjectivity, experience and training. Even using the same diagnostic guideline might not be foolproof if the findings are not consistently defined amongst examiners.

Moreover, Oshidori Mako, who has been in direct contact with many Fukushima residents since the disaster began, frequently visiting highly contaminated areas such as Iitate village, has been told by some parents about the short length of the Fukushima ultrasound examination.
http://news-log.jp/archives/7348/2

Some Fukushima parents who took their children to facilities outside Fukushima Prefecture for second opinions were surprised how much longer the physician/technician spent conducting each ultrasound examination. Often the findings were more extensive, such as a larger number or size of cysts and nodules.

Thus, it is possible to have different sets of findings on an individual depending on the examiner.

3. Survey results: summary

(1) All surveyed areas: summary

[1] Number and proportion of subjects by assessment category

For ease of comparison with the Fukushima thyroid examination, MOE results were tabulated together with the Fukushima results as below.
A word of caution is warranted here not to be fooled by just looking at percentages. It is not fair to compare things with different conditions. As the MOE survey population appears to differ from the Fukushima survey population in terms of age distribution and proportion, and for a reason to be explained in the next section, it might not be appropriate to compare the MOE results with the Fukushima results.

However, differences between Fukushima results from FYH23 (Fiscal Year Heisei 23 or 2011) and FYH24 (Fiscal Year Heisei 24 or 2012) might be worth noting. Both A2 and B assessments have higher proportions in FYH24. This might be explained by progression of abnormalities in thyroid gland with time and/or continuous radiation exposure these Fukushima children are still subject to.

As for the assessment category B, it may not be appropriate simply to compare percentages of those who “qualify” for secondary examination. Sometimes the lesions might be totally benign, so it is more meaningful to compare the “results of the secondary examination.”

Proceedings of the 10th Committee Meeting for Fukushima Health Management Survey, held on February 13, 2013, revealed that of the 186 children in category B from FYH23, 162 underwent secondary examination which consists of more detailed ultrasound examination, blood and urine tests, and biopsy if warranted. 76 out of the 162 had a fine-needle aspiration biopsy, and 10 were suspected of having cancer. As of February 13, 2013, 3 out of the 10 had been confirmed to have cancer and already undergone surgery. The remaining 7 were awaiting an excisional biopsy, with 80% chance of having cancer. An average age of these 10 children was 15, an average size of the lesion was 15 mm and 3 were boys and 7 were girls.

These cancers, according to Fukushima Medical University, are not unlikely to be related to radiation exposure, since it has only been two years since the accident and the latency for pediatric thyroid cancer was at least four years for Chernobyl. They claim these cancers were merely “latent cancers” which were already present and might have eventually be found at a later time, which happened to be discovered due to a mass-scale ultrasound screening.

If Fukushima’s results are no different from other prefectures’ results, one would expect to find an equivalent proportion of the B assessment to have cancer. In Fukushima, it is 10 suspicious cases (3 confirmed) out of 76 who had fine-needle aspiration biopsy, out of 162 who actually underwent secondary examination, out of 186 who qualified for secondary examination. This means 1.6 to 4.3% case of “latent” cancer, with 4.3% based on about 8 total cases of cancer as the unconfirmed 7 have 80% chance of having cancer. In the MOE study, then, there could be 1 to 2 “latent” cancer cases.

[2] Number and proportion of subjects for each assessment category (by sex and age)

The table provided in the original MOE report for the number of subjects for each assessment category by sex and age was retabulated in the same format as the similar tables in the Fukushima thyroid examination to follow.

MOE: number of subjects for each assessment category by age and sex

Fukushima FYH23 (top) and FYH24 (bottom): proportion of subjects for each assessment category by age and sex

The table provided in the original MOE report for the proportion of subjects for each assessment category by sex and age was also tabulated in a similar manner as the table for the number of subjects as above, although this type of table was not provided in the Fukushima results.

MOE: proportion of subjects for each assessment category by age and sex

Fukushima FYH23: proportion of subjects for each assessment category by age and sex

Fukushima FYH24: proportion of subjects for each assessment category by age and sex

These “proportion of subjects for each assessment category by age and sex” tables turned out to be quite revealing.

The very right column in each table shows a proportion of male vs female for each age group. The figures in the right bottom corner shows a proportion of male vs female for each survey population group. As you can see, the female:male ratio is about 1:1 in both Fukushima groups but 1.1:1 in the MOE group.

When you look at the age 11-15 group, the female:male ratio is about 1:1 in all three survey groups, but the age 16-18 group show a much higher female:male ratio of 1.6:1 in the MOE group, compared to 1.05:1 to 1.1:1 in the Fukushima groups.

The very bottom row in each table, named “Total,” shows female:male ratios for each assessment category with all age groups included. In all three survey groups, the female:male ratio is not too different at 1.1:1 to 1.2:1 in A2 and 1.9:1 to 2.3:1 in the B assessment, with the MOE group on the higher end. However, if you focus on the age 16-18 group, the female:male ratio is approximately 2:1 in both Fukushima groups, but it was significantly higher at 4.7:1 in the MOE group. In the age 16-18 group, the female:male ratio in the A2 assessment is 1.2:1 in both Fukushima groups and 1.7:1 in the`` MOE group.

In summary, the MOE survey group has a higher female:male ratio than the Fukushima groups as a whole, but it is especially high in the age 16-18 group. In addition, the female ratios in the A2 and B assessment categories are higher than the Fukushima groups. This might have resulted in the MOE’s A2 and B assessments exceeding Fukushima’s.

Can you truly call such a survey population a “control group” and its data “baseline” as a general guideline?

On the other hand, according to the Swiss study shown in the link below, it is known that thyroid gland goes through a rapid growth in puberty. In pubertal female, an increased activity of the thyroid gland is related to menarche. In addition, female hormones might have stimulating and male hormones inhibitory effects on thyroid gland and its endocrine control axis.
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/86/2/750.long

This suggests it might not be unusual to find thyroid abnormalities in the age 16-18 female group, which could be called a true “screening effect.” However, if that is the case, the age 16-18 female group in Fukushima should also show a similar degree of thyroid abnormalities.

The table provided in the original MOE report for the proportion of subjects for each assessment category by sex and age was also made into bar graphs showing the proportion of each assessment category by age group for each sex, in the same format as in the Fukushima thyroid examination.

MOE survey population: male

Fukushima survey population: male

MOE survey population:

female

Fukushima survey population: female

MOE survey population: male and female combined
In the MOE survey group, A2 ratio in each group is higher in both sexes than the Fukushima survey groups, but it is especially higher in the age 11 to 15 and the age 16 to 18 groups.
As can be seen in the first table showing the number of subjects in each age group and the proportion in the subject population, shown again below, these two age groups occupy higher ratios in the MOE survey group (45.7% for the age 11 to 15 group and 20.8% for the age 16 to 18) than the Fukushima survey groups (30-35% for the age 11 to 15 group and 10.6-16.0% for the age 16 to 18 group).

This confirms what was previously mentioned: the MOE survey group has a higher proportion of the age groups which have higher proportions of the A2 assessment as well as higher proportions of females.

[3] Number and proportion of subjects who had nodules and/or cysts

The table provided by the MOE report was tabulated together with two sets of results from Fukushima thyroid examination.
MOE did not provide the size distribution for the nodules and cysts in either A2 or B categories. It does not seem reasonable to simply compare proportions without putting the numbers in proper context, as previously stated throughout this analysis.

(2) Result by surveyed area: summary

The table provided in the official MOE report was colored in a similar way to the table with Fukushima results, which is shown below.

It is unclear why Yamanashi Prefecture has a much higher proportion of the A2 category than other two prefectures and Nagasaki has a much lower proportion of the B category than the other two. Sex distribution for each of prefectures in the MOE survey was not provided.

Rather than simply drawing a conclusion of “Fukushima results are about the same as other prefectures,” isn’t it more important to investigate why such variabilities are seen in the MOE survey prefectures as well as whether if the MOE survey truly represents “normal” incidence of pediatric thyroid abnormalities?

The A2 assessment of 56.5 % in the MOE survey group leads to several hypotheses.

1. This is the normal incidence of childhood thyroid abnormalities.
2. Something is causing thyroid abnormalities in children all over Japan.
3. The MOE number is higher due to biases such as uneven age and sex distribution of the surveyed population.
4. There is some error in the study design and/or parameters.

It may be that no one know the full truth. At least it will be difficult to figure it out without more detailed information such as the sex distribution of the each MOE prefecture, the amount of time spent on ultrasound examination for each MOE survey subject, etc. It might be necessary to compare this data to a similar survey outside Japan, which might not be easy.

For now, we await the final word on the fate of the seven suspected cases of thyroid cancer from the FYH23 Fukushima group, the results of secondary examination from over 700 children from the FYH24 Fukushima group, and at last the results of the first screening examination from the remaining 158,783 children from the FYH25 Fukushima group which will be ongoing until March 2014.

Meanwhile, the ones from FYH23 with the A2 assessment, who did not require secondary examination, are still living with radiation in Fukushima yet not getting follow-up thyroid ultrasound to monitor their nodules and/or cysts until FYH26, which begins in April 2016.

470 Becquerels from Children's Clothes, Ex-Nuclear Power Plant Worker Reveals

2013-03-29T18:14:00.002-06:00

A “Long-lasting” Job at 1F: Women 18-62 Wanted

2013-03-23T16:32:00.002-06:00

A job opening at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: women accepted!

By company “Authentic” in Okuma-cho, Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture

Job starts in May.

You can make money! We will let you make money! It’s a job even women can do.

This job will last a very long time.

Urgently looking for someone with physical and mental strength.

Job location is Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP (1F) with low dose radiation (10-20 μSv)/day.

Job description is clean-up activity.

Protective suits and masks to be worn.

Lodging in Iwaki-city being arranged.

Daily wage 16,000 yen (about $150) for an 8-hour day, no extra pay for danger

Actual work hours per day = about 4 hours (short hours in summer)

Wage payment will be deposited into your bank account by the end of the following month.

Car commuting is allowed, staying in Hirono-cho on your own and taking a bus from there.

No meals provided, but under negotiation now.

Job period is 5 to 10 years, or until the reactors are decommissioned.

Other decontamination jobs also available for the same wage.

Many other jobs available.

How to apply for the job:

Please e-mail your name, age, and your contact address.

Limit 100 applicants

After checking your e-mail, we will notify you as to if you are hired.

Eligibility: No membership in yakuza or anti-social organization. We will check into this when reviewing your application. No tattoo or missing finger. Your own health insurance required.

Age limit: under consideration, but will most likely be between age 18 and 62.

Applicant limit: 100

We look forward to receiving your application.

Original information, as copied below, can be found here:

http://jp.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=cdd3b79212a35070

第一原発女性就労可能です!

オーセンテック - 福島県双葉郡大熊町

5月スタートのお仕事です

稼げます! 稼がせます! 女性も就労可能な作業です

長く続くお仕事です体力、気力がある方急募です

第一原発 (通称1F) 低線量(10 ~ 20マイクロシーベルト)/日

作業内容片付け等の業務です

防護服着用マスク着用

宿いわき市現在調整中

日給16000円 /8h作業危険手当は付きません

実作業時間約4時間 (夏季はまだ短時間です)

支払い末〆翌月末御指定銀行に振込致します

車での赴任可能広野町で自己管理して頂きます広野町からマイクロバスにて移動です

食事無現在交渉中

作業期間は 5 ~ 10年もしくは廃炉までとなります

その他除染作業も有ります単価はほぼ変わりません

案件多数有ります

応募方法

氏名年齢連絡先住所を記載の上メールにて応募して下さい

募集枠 100名

メール確認後此方から採用の連絡を致します

応募資格暴力団過去に反社会組織に属していない書類選考時関係各所のチェック有り

刺青指の欠損などもNG 保険書を保持されている方のみです

年齢制限現在調整中 18 ~ 62才までの予定

募集人員100名

ご応募お待ちしております

The Ministry of the Environment Thyroid Survey

2013-03-11T09:32:00.007-06:00

Thyroid survey by the Ministry of the Environment was conducted in order to find out the incidence of thyroid nodules and cysts in children in areas not affected by radiation contamination due to the Fukushima nuclear accident. The official name for the survey is “Study of presence of thyroid findings in three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture.” It will be referred to as the “MOE thyroid survey” hereafter.

Thyroid ultrasound examination was performed on 4,365 children, ages 3 to 18, in Aomori (HIrosaki-city), Nagasaki (Nagasaki-city), and Yamanashi (Kofu-city) Prefectures. The examination was conducted using the same degree of sensitivity and the same as the examination being conducted in Fukushima Prefecture.

A preliminary result for the MOE thyroid survey was presented at a press conference on March 8, 2013, which revealed a higher percentage of A2 and B assessments than Fukushima Prefecture, at 56.6% and 1.0% respectively. (In Fukushima Prefecture, the cumulative results for A2 and B assessments were 41.8% and 0.6%, respectively). The A2 assessment includes nodules 5.0 mm or smaller or cysts 20.0 mm or smaller, only requiring observation and a follow-up ultrasound in two years. The B assessment includes nodules 5.1 mm or larger and cysts 20.1 mm or larger, requiring a secondary examination including a more detailed ultrasound examination, blood test and a possible fine-needle aspiration biopsy. As of mid-February, it was reported that the result of the MOE thyroid survey was going to be available by the end of March, which is the end of this fiscal year. It was unclear why a preliminary result was reported at this time.

Study of presence of thyroid findings in three prefectures outside Fukushima Prefecture (MOE thyroid survey) A = 56.6%; B = 1.0%

Fukushima Prefecture survey
Cumulative ratio of assessment A = 41.8%; B = 0.6%.
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2013/02/fukushima-thyroid-examination-part-4.html

The comparison of the two surveys was quickly publicized as a proof that the thyroid abnormalities discovered in Fukushima are not likely due to the effect of radiation, as a higher percentage of abnormalities were found outside Fukushima Prefecture.

*****
Shinichi Suzuki of Fukushima Medical University, a physician who is in charge of the thyroid examination in Fukushima, had maintained that the “high” percentage of thyroid ultrasound abnormalities in Fukushima children was because of a high sensitivity of the ultrasound equipment being used. Since there was no comparable study available in terms of mass screenings of children using thyroid ultrasound, the Japanese government decided to launch a study outside Fukushima Prefecture.

This MOE three-prefecture survey was commissioned to the Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology (JABTS), http://www.jabts.net/, on August 31, 2012, which won an open competitive bidding. At the time, it was supposed to be a control study to obtain data to compare to the Fukushima result. However, it was allegedly explained at the press conference for the preliminary result that this study was not considered a control study but rather a study to compare incidence amongst the three prefectures. This is quite strange, since they reported the total incidence of the three prefectures.

The purpose of the survey was said to relieve the anxiety of Fukushima parents who were worried about their children’s A2 assessments. Did it really accomplish that?

Unlike the Fukushima survey, the MOE thyroid survey apparently does not include children younger than 3. Also, the survey population appears to be from a fixed location such as a particular school, which might not be a general representation of the population.

The higher percentages of 56.6% and 1.0% did not come with detailed information such as the proportion of nodules vs. cysts or the size and age distributions of nodules and cysts. It is possible that there were many findings of cysts smaller than 3.0 mm, which are not considered clinically significant yet included in the A2 assessment. Moreover, the percentage of the B assessment, eligible for the secondary examination, does not mean as much as the result of the secondary examination. For instance, in fiscal year H23, 186 out of 38,114 had B assessment, 162 underwent the secondary examination, and 76 of 162 had fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Ten children were suspected of having thyroid cancer. Three of them were confirmed to have thyroid cancer and already had surgery. Seven others will undergo surgery for tissue biopsy for confirmation.

Incidentally, Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology was one of the seven organizations included in the "Diagnostic Criteria Inquiry Subcommittee of Thyroid Examination Advisory Committee." This committee decided on diagnostic criteria for thyroid ultrasound examination for the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey. However,
no record could be found, at least on the Internet, regarding minutes of proceedings of this Subcommittee, revealing a potential lack of transparency.

Moreover, one of the board members of the Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology happens to be Shinichi Suzuki, who is in charge of the Fukushima thyroid examination. This could compromise the neutrality and objectivity of the MOE thyroid survey.

It is difficult to find radiation-free areas in Japan due to the nationwide incineration of disaster debris with some radiation contamination as well as the widespread distribution of contaminated foodstuff. Also, Kofu-city, Yamanashi, did get some Fukushima fallout. Rather than being content that Fukushima’s thyroid abnormalities are not much different from those other prefectures, there might be a bigger issue of why there are such high percentages of abnormalities found in children all over Japan.

We will await the full report by the Ministry of the Environment on this “comparative” study.

Radioactive Reed Burning

2013-03-06T21:52:00.000-06:00

On March 17, 2013, six days after the second anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, an annual event will resume after a two-year hiatus. It is reed burning at Watarase-yusuichi, or Watarase retarding basin, an extensive wetland that was recently registered as a Ramsar site, in July 2012, as described below.

Watarase- yusuichi
http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list-anno-japan/main/ramsar/1-31-218%5E16573_4000_0__
03/07/12; Ibaragi, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama; 2,861 ha; 36°14'20"N 139°40'56"E. National Wildlife Protection Zone. A natural river flood plain where the Watarase, Uzuma and Omoi rivers meet and includes the Watarase reservoir, an artificial retarding basin surrounded by an embankment managed mainly for flood control. Located 60 km north of Tokyo, it is representative of a Phragmites australis-dominated low moor wetland in the Japanese Evergreen Forest biogeographic ecoregion. The extensive reedbed is one of the largest in the biogeographic region and supports a diversity of wetland flora and fauna. The site has an important flood control function by retarding the flood water from the rivers that flows into the site, and then slowly releasing the water into the Tone River that flows downstream. It is also used for fisheries, recreation, and environmental education. The wetland is at risk of drying up due to excess deposits of earth and sand and is being maintained through excavation since 2010. Ramsar Site no. 2061. Most recent RIS information: 2012.

Aerial view of Watarase-yusuichi

Nature and wildlife at Watarase-yusuichi

Watarase reed burning, annually conducted in mid to late March, was cancelled in 2011 due to difficulties with securing firefighters to prevent burning beyond proscribed areas, after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. In 2012, local residents opposed to it after radioactive material was detected in the ash of the bottom grass which underwent test incineration. Four prefectures abutting the Watarase-yusuichi, Tochigi, Saitama, Ibaraki and Gunma are located south of Fukushima prefecture and received consistent radioactive fallout regularly after the nuclear accident.

However, the wetland habitat is apparently deteriorating due to the absence of reed burning, leading to poor growth of reed and other rare plants.

Reed burning had always been sponsored by “Federation of Cooperatives Utilizing Watarase-yusuichi,” consisting of representatives from regions which utilize the retarding basin, and co-sponsored by the Liaison Committee of public workers from four cities and two towns in four prefectures, Tochigi, Saitama, Ibaraki and Gunma.

A joint committee consisting of the area local governments and the national government investigated the effect of radiation stemming from reed burning in January, checking the concentration of radioactive cesium in the incinerated ashes of reed and bottom grass. The maximum concentration was 930 Bq/kg, which was much less than 8,000 Bq/kg, the permissible limit for regular radioactive waste that can be safely disposed of in landfill. (This limit was created by the government due to the emergency situation after the accident, and it is by no means a small number). As a result, the joint committee decided on February 1, 2013, that it would be safe to resume reed burning.

As the “Federation of Cooperatives Utilizing Watarase-yusuichi” refused to take any responsibility in case something happened, it was decided that the Liaison Committee would be the sponsor. An effort will be made to the burning area small to avoid the spread of ashes and measuring ambient radiation levels before and after the fire is lit.

The general location of Watarase-yusuichi (below)

The light green area in the map below shows Watarase-yusuichi.

This site shows images of the past reed burning.
http://www.geocities.jp/nekko3rays/d_yoshiyaki.html

This video shows the 2009 reed burning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6m9dpFHo3Q

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The black smoke in the above images and the video is rather unsettling and difficult to ignore. In fact, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Environmental Research Institute, field burning produces as much as 10,000μg/m3 of PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5, which refers to very fine particles with diameter of 2.5 μm), which is of special interest in pollution as it is known to cause detrimental health effects such as respiratory illnesses.

http://www.tokyokankyo.jp/kankyoken_contents/research-meeting/h23-01/2302-pp.pdf

Comparative diagram of PM2.5

Furthermore, it has been shown that PM2.5 can contain cesium as in the table showing metal contents of PM2.5 collected by roadside in various parts of Tokyo.

http://www.kankyo.metro.tokyo.jp/air/attachement/1-1%20h20%20taikikankyoutyousa%20kekkahoukokusyo(an).pdf

To be clear, there is no testing done to identify radioactive materials in PM2.5. It is only a postulate, but this represents a large gap in data which could be used to inform the world of the dangers of burning radiation contaminated areas.

The cesium in PM2.5 in the above table has no designation as to its radioactive status. Some non-radioactive cesium does exist in nature. The amount shown in this table is very small, but it proves that cesium can exist in PM2.5.

In Chernobyl, wildfires in the contaminated areas have presented problems. In this research study, Vegetation fires, smoke emissions, and dispersion of radionuclides in the chernobyl exclusion zone http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/34263, an experimental grass fire revealed that nearly 45% of Cs137 was in the form of radioactive aerosols smaller than 1.8 μm, well within the PM2.5 range, as depicted by red arrows in the graph shown below.

As it has been in the news, PM2.5 levels in China are skyrocketing lately, some of which has been drifting towards Japan causing severe air pollution. In addition, it has been known that particulate matter from China reaches the United States via the world’s jetstream activity as described in the article below.

China’s Rise Creates Clouds of U.S. Pollution
http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/china%E2%80%99s-rise-creates-clouds-us-pollution

EPA’s PM2.5 site:
http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/

In other words, the prospective reed burning could release radioactive material into the air, some of which could be transported to other parts of the world, even in the absence of explosive forces of explosion, as PM2.5.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident, which involved 3 explosions beginning March 13, the radioactivity began to reach the west coast of the United States on March 18th.

On March 17, 2013, the proposed reed burning of the Watarase-yusuichi, has the potential to further spread radioactive materials beyond Japan's borders - affecting other nations. Alternate dates proposed, in case of rain or wet conditions, are March 20 and 24. People of the world need to realize that a strong connection between burning contaminated materials and the release of radioactive elements exists and poses a real threat to both humanity and our ecological support systems.

It is such a massive scale of burning that it is identifiable from above the Earth. As seen in the satellite images of the 2005 Reed Burning from the link provided below, the area of the burning can be seen at the tip of the red arrow in the middle image taken during the burning and the right image 4 days after the burning. http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/imgdata/topics/2005/tp050401.html

Please watch the wind direction on March 17, moiitor the EPA PM2.5 monitoring site, AirNOW, for any changes, and protect yourselves from potentially radioactive dust.

Live camera covering the Watarase-yusuichi area:
Watarase-yusuichi station
http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/tonejo/cctv/camview.htm?cam8%3C%3E36.22805555555556%3C%3E139.65944444444446
Furukawa station
http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/tonejo/cctv/camview.htm?cam5%3C%3E36.192499999999995%3C%3E139.69583333333333
Otome station
http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/tonejo/cctv/camview.htm?cam6%3C%3E36.261944444444445%3C%3E139.74749999999997
Nakasato station
http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/tonejo/cctv/camview.htm?cam7%3C%3E36.2925%3C%3E139.73250000000002

Wind Map around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Google Maps Markers Version)
http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/earthquake/201103-eastjapan/weather/gpv/wind/marker/index.html.en

AirNOW:
http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.national&__utma=172919287.1407685150.1358728693.1361856928.1361871811.9&__utmb=172919287.4.8.1361871893696&__utmc=172919287&__utmx=-&__utmz=172919287.1361871811.9.9.utmcsr=google|utmccn=%28organic%29|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=%28not%20provided%29&__utmv=172919287.|1=visitor%20id=1407685150=1&__utmk=118164553

Of course, this reed burning is insane and terrible for local area residents’ health as well as the rest of Japan. Sadly, as we approach the second anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear accident, people’s attention is diverted from real radioactive contamination due to the intentional cover-up of this critical situation by the government and the media. Some even seem to believe everything has been cleaned up at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Most local residents do not seem to even mention radiation in their daily conversation. Those who would care and talk about the danger of radiation contamination already moved away from areas surrounding Watarase-yusuichi. The rest of the people either believe the government telling them it’s such a miniscule amount of radiation that it won’t affect their health or they don’t care.

It is very curious that Watarase-yusuichi was designated as a Ramsar site as recently as July 2012, a little over a year after the nuclear accident. Was this coincidental? Nevertheless, it is somewhat understandable that they want to go ahead with reed burning to “keep up with the name,” so to speak, as this would be the first reed burning since the Ramsar site designation. However, it still is not logical to endanger area residents and the rest of the world.

Does the preservation of wetland habitat and endangered plant species take precedence over human health? This presents an ethical dilemma, as it speaks as to whose lives are more precious, humans or plants and wildlife. In addition, the history of Watarase-yusuichi as a retarding basin created to sink toxins derived from Ashio copper mine upstream appears to hold an emotional attachment for local people. They want to create and preserve a beautiful wildlife refugee and a central place for promoting the pride of the region which was so hurt by pollution in the past.

Sadly, now the region was polluted again. This time by radiation.

Fukushima Thyroid Examination Part 4

2013-02-13T19:36:00.000-06:00

The Tenth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey was released on February 13, 2013.

The Radiation Medical Science Center of Fukushima Medical University now has an English site where they have complete, official translation of the previous survey results.
http://www.fmu.ac.jp/radiationhealth/results/

However, the newly released result has not been officially translated yet. Excerpts of the new thyroid examination result are translated into English in this article. In addition, some critical information from the February 13, 2013 Committee meeting is included.

The thyroid examination section of the survey is shown in this link.
www.pref.fukushima.jp/imu/kenkoukanri/250213siryou2.pdf (Japanese)

It contains new thyroid examination results from April 1, 2012 through January 21, 2013, for Fiscal Year Heisei 24 (FYH24) which ends on March 31, 2013. As of January 25, 2013, 111,546 of eligible 128,082 children underwent the examination in FYH24. In FYH23, 38,114 of 47,766 eligible children underwent examination. As a whole, 149,660 of 175,848 eligible children, about half of the Fukushima children, already underwent examination.

The results compiled up to January 21, 2013 revealed that 41,947 (44.2%) of 94,975 children had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities. Together with 38,114 children (13,645 or 35.8% had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities) tested in the last half of Fiscal Year Heisei 23 (FYH23) from October 2011 through March 2012, a total of 55,592 (41.8%) of 133,089 Fukushima children have been found to have ultrasound abnormalities.

The Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey Planning Committee revealed that 10 of 186 eligible for the secondary examination from FYH23 were suspected of having thyroid cancer as a result of the examination. They reported that three of them were confirmed to have papillary carcinoma of thyroid gland and already had surgery. The remaining seven have 80% chance of having cancer based on their biopsy results. These children’s identities were not revealed, including their estimated thyroid exposure dose and place of residence, citing protection of their privacy.

The ten children included 3 boys and 7 girls, and their average age was 15. The average size of their tumor was 15 mm.

The three children who already had surgery include a female child between age 16 and 18 who had a C assessment in the last result, as publicized in mid-November 2012. They are all apparently doing well after surgery, being followed on an outpatient basis at this time.

There were 549 children eligible for secondary examination from FYH24, with 200 more children likely to be added from Koriyama-city and Miharu-machi where the primary examination is currently conducted. Of these 549 children, 36 have finished the secondary examination, but the results have not been released.

The percentage of abnormalities from FYH24 at 44.2% is higher than previous results of 42.7% and 43.1%, and the overall abnormality rate, for FYH23 and FYH24 combined, of 41.8% is higher than the last result of 40%. The proportion of children with nodules equal to and larger than 5.1 mm and any size cysts have increased.

******

Consideration was given to increase the number of children who could be examined by offering the examination for grade school and junior high school students at schools where the children attend . In addition, public venues with good traffic access were chosen as the examination sites.

Efforts were made to structure a more effective and efficient examination system so that the examination implementation period may be shortened:
● Try to obtain a facility where 700 to 800 may be examined per day.
● In actually implementing the examination, manage the sensitivity of the equipment in order to achieve an examination with high standards. Attempt to examine 700 to 800 children by structuring a more effective reception and guidance.

As of November 1, 2012, the thyroid examination began at facilities outside Fukushima Prefecture for those children who have evacuated Fukushima. An agreement has been reached with 77 facilities outside Fukushima Prefecture to provide examination.

*****
Note:
H23 refers to Heisei Year 23, which is the same as 2011.
FYH23 refers to Fiscal Year Heisei 23 which runs from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012.
H24 refers to Heisei Year 24, which is the same as 2012.
FYH24 refers to Fiscal Year Heisei 24 which runs from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012.

*****
For a complete English translation of the thyroid examination section of the Sixth and Seventh Reports of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, please refer to these links.
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/07/thyroid-examination-by-fukushima.html
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B68f83tqq7QuZUdCZXhTLVl2dEE/edit?pli=1

For a complete, official English translation of the thyroid examination section of the Eighth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, please refer to this link.
www.fmu.ac.jp/radiationhealth/results/media/2_Thyroid_Ultrasound_Examination.pdf

For a complete, official translation of the thyroid examination section of the Ninth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, please refer to this link.
www.fmu.ac.jp/radiationhealth/results/media/9-2_Thyroid.pdf

*****

The Tenth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey (excerpt)
February 13, 2013

Summary of Thyroid Examination Results ①

[Explanation of assessment classifications]
・A1 and A2 will be observed until the next round of examinations (after FYH26 or FY2014).
・B and C will undergo secondary examination. (Notice of the date and place of the secondary examination will be sent to them).
※A2 will be treated as B if the thyroid gland condition warrants the need for a secondary examination.
※Examination results for FYH24 (FY2012) include completed results up to January 21, 2013.

※Some cases have both nodules and cysts.

*********
Summary of Thyroid Examination Results ②

1. Distribution by age and gender for each assessment classification category.
(For each category the left column shows the number of boys, the middle column shows the number of girls, and the right column shows the total, based on age groups in five-year intervals.)
The upper table is for FYH23 (FY2011). The lower table is for FYH24 (FY2012), which shows the completed results up to January 21, 2013.

2. Proportion of each assessment classification category by age.
In the tables of horizontal bar graphs, the left table is for boys and the right for girls. For each age group, in five-year intervals, the top bar shows FYH23 (FY2011) and the bottom bar FYH24 (FY2012).

*********
Details of Thyroid Examination Results (FYH24 Exam: Cysts)

①　Size breakdown of cysts found at thyroid examination conducted in FYH24 (FY2012)

Total Results

●Of 94,975 who were examined in FYH24 (FY2012), 41,439 or 43.6% (35.1% in FYH23) had cysts.
Of these, 23,833 had cysts equal to or smaller than 3.0 mm, which are considered not to be cysts in ordinary medical examinations,.
Moreover, 17,606 had cysts equal to or larger than 3.1 mm, comprising 18.5% (16.7% in FYH23) of the total examined.

● More girls tended to have cysts equal to or larger than 3.1 mm (43.7% boys and 56.3 % girls: 43.3% boys and 56.7 % girls in FYH23).

*********
Details of Thyroid Examination Results (FYH24 Exam: Nodules)

①　Size breakdown of nodules found at thyroid examination conducted in FYH24 (FY2012)

② Size distribution of nodules

Total Results

●Of 94,975 who were examined in FYH24 (FY 2012), 951 or 1.0% (1.0% in FYH23) had nodules.

●Of 951 who had nodules, 538, or 0.6% (0.5% in FYH23) of the total examined, had nodules large enough to require secondary examination.
In addition, 364 of the 538 mentioned above had nodules which were 5.1 mm to 10.0 mm in size, comprising 67.7% (68.5% in FYH23) of the 538 requiring secondary examination.

●174 had nodules which were larger than 10.0 mm, comprising 0.18% (0.15% in FYH23) of the total examined.

*********

Implementation Status of FYH24 (FY2012) Secondary Thyroid Examination

■Summary of Secondary Thyroid Examination (All-prefecture Preliminary Examination)

FYH23 examination: 186 qualified.
                                 151 finished and 76 had biopsy.
                                 10 had suspicion of thyroid cancer.
                                 3 were confirmed to have papillary thyroid cancer and had surgery.

FYH24 examination: 549 qualified with 200+ more anticipated.
                                 Currently being conducted.
                                 9 had biopsy, but results not released yet.

■　Implementation status of secondary thyroid examination (All-prefecture preliminary examination). (As of January 28, 2013)

※1 Those who will be re-checked at the standard examination after April 2014 due to the absence of abnormalities.
※2 Those who have moved onto regular medical care schedule, to be re-checked mostly 6 months to one year later.

■ Implementation Schedule for FYH24 and FYH 25 Secondary Thyroid Examination

Implementation Schedule for FYH25 Thyroid Examination

(All-prefecture Preliminary Examination)

Radioactive Cesium and Heart Chapter 4: Pathophysiological Characteristics of Effects of Radioactive Cesium on Heart

2013-02-09T16:47:00.000-06:00

By Yury Bandazhevsky

Revised English translation by Yuri Hiranuma

Original full version “Radioactive Caesium and Heart”
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3fFCVXEJlbvQkluX2tocjVZd2c/edit

    Thus, it is possible to make a conclusion about harmful influences of this radionuclide on the cardiovascular system after analyzing the following data: results of ECG examination of the children of various ages with varying degrees of incorporation of radioactive cesium in the body; microscopic studies of organs of individuals in the territories affected by the Chernobyl accident; and lastly laboratory experiments with animals. This effect is manifested not only due to its direct impact on cellular structures but also its indirect influences through a series of systems, in particular the nervous and endocrine systems.

    A direct effect of radioactive cesium on the heart is due to its selective accumulation in the myocardial cells compared to other organs and tissues (Fig. 9 &10). Perhaps it is due to the intensive functioning of the Na+/K+ pump: since Cs-137 is similar to potassium, it is absorbed by cardiomyocytes fairly easily. This process involves the structures of cellular membranes, and this radionuclide interacts with them easily.15 This is accompanied by suppression of a very essential enzyme such as creatine phosphokinase, which is involved in the cellular energetic metabolism: accumulation, transport, and utilization of high energy phosphates. Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) catalyzes the reversible phosphorylation reaction which involves transfer of a phosphate group from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to creatine and from phosphocreatine to adenosine diphosphate (ADP). 1

Figure 9. Accumulation of Cs-137 in organs and bodies of experimental animals
1-heart, 2-liver, 3-spleen, 4-kidneys, 5-whole body

Figure 10. Accumulation of Cs-137 in the internal organs of albino rats with a daily intake of 180 Bq
1-whole body, 2-liver, 3-kidneys, 4-myocardium, 5-spleen, 6-skeletal muscles, 7-testicles, 8-lungs
    Creatine phosphokinase is localized in different subcellular structures: cytoplasm, mitochondria, microsomes, nuclei, sarcoplasmic reticulum and myofibrils. According to the existing concept, mitochondrial creatine phosphokinase catalyzes the formation of phosphocreatine from ATP, which is produced within the mitochondrial matrix as a result of oxidative phosphorylation. The resulting phosphocreatine moves into the cytoplasm according to the concentration gradient or by rapid diffusion to specific isoenzymes of creatine phosphokinase and in particular to be:

· related to the structures responsible for muscle contraction; the M-line of myofibrils.
· associated with the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ adenosine triphosphatase.

· related to the sarcoplasm and the Na+/K+ adenosine triphosphatase.
· associated with postsynaptic membrane, rich in acetylcholine receptors and ATPases.
    Mitochondrial creatine phosphokinase holds together the outer and inner surfaces of the mitochondrial membrane, creating its structure.1
    Localization of creatine phosphokinase in the area of M-line creates conditions that allow continuous renewal of ATP to ensure proper contractile function of myofibrils (Fig. 11). The resulting creatine returns to mitochondria in order to again become a substrate for phosphorylation.

Figure 11. Intercalated disks of cardiac muscles (scheme).
1-basement membrane of cardiomyocyte, 2-sarcolemma of cardiomyocyte, 3-mitochondrion, 4-myofibrils, 5-sarcoplasma, 6-cytoplasmic network, 7-thin filament (actin), 8-thick filament (myosin), 9-intercalated disk, 10-light disk (I-band), 11-dark disk (A-band), 12-Z disk, 13-M-disk, 14-desmosome (macular adherans), 15 nexus (gap junction), 16-fascia adherens (by Bargmann & Schulce; modified).

    Thus a decrease in the enzyme activity indicates serious structural and metabolic defects in the energetic complex of cardiomyocytes. This is observed as changes in the mitochondrial system in the form of an increase in the number and size of mitochondria and the increase in the number of lamellar cristae and their subsequent destruction. It is also observed as aggregation of mitochondria and changes in the number of intermitochondrial contacts (Fig.12).

Figure 12. Aggregation, increase in the number, and increase in the size of mitochondria of cardiomyocytes of rats with incorporation of radioactive cesium in the body at 45 Bq/kg. Magnification X30,000.

    Inhibition of the energy complex could be related to a direct influence of radioactive cesium on the membrane structure as well as an influence of several metabolites, particularly thyroid hormones, considering that these hormones have toxic effects on the mitochondrial system. 13　In this regard, activities of creatine phosphokinase are inhibited in Graves’ disease or in experimentally induced hyperhyroidism. 1   It is possible that under the influence of radioactive cesium an increased amount of free thyroxin damages myocardial cells by affecting these enzymes. This hypothesis is proven by the increase in the frequency of ECG changes that parallels the free thyroxine level in blood of children with radioactive cesium incorporation of higher than 37 Bq/kg (Fig. 13). Thus it is possible to assume the role of thyroxin in occurrence of arrhythmias.

Figure 13. Dependence of serum thyroxine (T4) level in children on the amount of incorporated Cs-137 (P <0.001 between Groups 1 and 3).

    In men, activity of creatine phosphokinase is greater than in women. 1   It cannot be ruled out that the vulnerability of this enzyme in myocardial cells under the influence of radioactive cesium is the leading cause of sudden deaths in men.8,29,41
    It should be noted that a decrease in the activity of alkaline phosphatase in the myocardial structures is indicative of the development of degenerative processes specific for exposure to ionizing radiation. 36
    The nature of structural changes, in the myocardial cells of laboratory animals with the incorporation of radioactive cesium and individuals living in areas contaminated with radioactive cesium, indicates impairment of permeability of sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane for Ca2+. This may be due to the direct effect of this radionuclide on the cell membrane as well as the radioactive rays emitted as it decays. The resulting peroxidation of fatty acid chains of phospholipids leads to changes in the cell membrane’s structure and permeability to different ions, including Ca2+ . At the same time, it naturally changes the activity of membrane-bound enzymes. Excess production of free hydroxy radicals and amplification of lipid peroxidation contribute to the destruction of cell membranes.

    The Ca2+ transport system of the myocardial sarcoplasmic reticulum is actively involved in the process of contraction-relaxation of myofibrils by way of releasing and accumulation of Ca2+. If the system is damaged due to various agents, including radioactive cesium, the level of free Ca2+ in cardiomyocytes increases and the relaxation of myofibrils is disrupted.

    Changes in the contractile apparatus are reflected in changes observed in the double ray refraction of myofibrils: appearance of segmental and subsegmental contractures, intracellular myocytolysis, primary cluster disintegration of myofibrils, cytolysis, and eventually coagulative or colliquative necrosis. 32
    Contractive alterations of segmental and subsegmental types are defined in the polarized light by enhancement of the anisotropy of the A-band of myofibrils. They look like a radiant cross strip with cross sections of striated myofibrils between them. When examined under the light microscope, they are visible due to the greater density and eosinophilia. Ten days’ worth of radioactive cesium incorporation by rats of Vistar line (cesium concentration was 60-100 Bq/kg) also led to these alterations (Fig. 14).

Figure 14. Histological section of animal myocardium after incorporation of radioactive cesium in food (concentration in the body at 100 Bq/kg). Diffuse contracture in myofibrils of cardiomyocytes. Diffuse myocytolysis. Focal infiltration of lymphohistiocytic cells. Stained with hemotoxylin and eosin. Magnification X125.

In the primary cluster disintegration of myofibrils, the isotropic spaces are found between anisotropic clusters (Fig 15). This, unlike contractures, is severe and irreversible damages to cardiomyocytes indicating their death. It should be noted that primary cluster disintegration is often found in acute cardiac insufficiency. 30,31

Figure 15. Histological section of myocardium of a woman who died in childbirth. Radioactive cesium concentration in heart at 105 Bq/kg. Primary cluster disintegration of myofibrils. Loosening of muscle fibers. Intermuscular edema. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification X250.

Cytolysis or in vivo autolysis of myocardiocytes is also an irreversible condition. It tends to be diffuse under the influence of radioactive cesium (Fig. 16,17).
Figure 16. Histological section of animal myocardium after incorporation of radioactive cesium (concentration in the body at 900 Bq/kg). Diffuse myocytolysis. Pronounced intertissue edema. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification X125.

Figure 17. Histological section of myocardium of a 43-year-old Dobrush resident who died suddenly. Raioactive cesium concentration 45 Bq/kg. Diffuse myocytolysis. Intermuscular edema. Fragmentation of muscle fibers. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification x125.

    The above changes are observed not only under the exposure to radioactive cesium but also when there are metabolic damages due to intoxication, hypoxia, or functional overload 14,24,40 and under the influence of extreme environmental factors contributing to the development of stress reactions. 27,28,31 It is observed that these reactions occur when the Ca2+ concentration in cardiomyocytes is increased. 28

    The leading role in the mechanism of injury is played by the effects of catecholamines (noradrenaline, adrenaline) on the beta-adrenergic receptors of the myocardium. This does not have any connection with ischemic damage to the heart. 28
    The total scheme of the effects on heart is influenced by a wide variety of factors through stress reactions. High concentrations of catecholamines increase the number and timing of opening of the voltage-dependent and receptor-dependent calcium channels, resulting in the accumulation of Ca2+ in cardiomyocytes. In addition, cells of conducting system are damaged earlier and to a greater degree, since they have low resting potential and the input ion current, which is responsible for the action potential, is primarily calcium.10   Moreover, this system has predominantly adrenergic innervation. 28

    As a result of the process, cells end up with a high concentration of Ca2+.   When these Ca2+ are inappropriately released from the cell, arrhythmias, or rhythm disturbances can occur. We emphasize that it is directly related to the function of the cationic pumps. A significant role in the energy supply for the pump is played by the creatine phosphokinase and glycolytic systems. 28 In order to cause relaxation of myocardium and break bridges between thin actin and thick myosin myofibrils, it is necessary to coordinate both of these systems. This includes sarcoplasmic reticulum ATPase, which transports Ca2+ back into the cistern of sarcoplasmic reticulum. It should be noted that this is an energy-requiring process, comprising nearly 15% of all energetic consumption of the cardiac muscles. 25

    Considering the duration of influence of radioactive cesium on people living in the contaminated territories and the suppression of noradrenaline production in the cells of cerebral hemispheres, 23 it is not hard to imagine the leading role of catecholamines in causing contractures of muscle fibers. It could just happen in cases of strong stress reactions. In reality, accumulation of Ca2+ in the cells under the influence of radioactive cesium can occur due to the energy deficit caused by damage to the energy supply system within the cell membranes, including mitochondria and structures of sarcoplasmic reticulum. That is why the cells cannot release Ca2+ in a timely manner. Calcium ions enter the cells very intensively due to the destruction of membrane phospholipids by free radical hydroxyl groups. In this situation it does not take much effort to cause significant myocardial damage. Death of cardiomyocytes can occur due to prolonged energy deficits, caused by physical exertion, acute infectious processes and alcohol intoxication.

    Cardiac activity could be stopped by increasing the concentration of radioactive cesium in the body. In particular, a rapid administration of a large amount of the Cs-137 radionuclide, reaching the concentration of 1,000 Bq/kg within 5 days, caused cardiac arrest in rats. In this case the radioactive agent itself became the direct cause of death.   To a lesser degree, the source of recontractions of myofibrils of cardiomyocytes in the presence of radioactive cesium accumulation could be an emotional stress, resulting in the release of catecholamines. This is due to the fact that in long-term cesium toxicity, there is a progressive suppression of function of the sympathetic nervous system, reducing the adaptive reserve of the body.17 At the same time it is impossible to exclude the role of catecholamines in cardiac damage under the influence of radioactive cesium.

    This has been confirmed by the results of clinical and laboratory testing of children with chronic gastrointestinal pathology. There was a directly proportional relationship between the frequency of hypersympatheticotonic variant of the autonomic nervous system reactivity and the amount of radioactive cesium in the body. Based on the above data, it is necessary to conclude that the energy deficit in the calcium transport system, appearing during the radioactive cesium incorporation, leads to disruption of cardiac rhythm, disorders of contractile apparatus of cardiomyocytes, and eventually cardiac arrest.

    Injuries to the cardiovascular system could not be examined separately from other organs and systems, particularly the kidneys. As the main organ of excretion of radioactive cesium from the body,16 kidneys are significantly affected even at a small Cs-137 concentration. Kidneys also undergo similar damaging effects as the cardiovascular system, first and foremost in the glomerular apparatus. 6,7   In the muscle fibers within the arterioles, there are changes identical to those observed in the myocardium. Contractures of myofibrils lead to a prolonged spasm of the arterioles, stopping the circulation in the structures of the nephron. Deaths of cellular elements form a specific structural change in the glomeruli, a phenomenon called melting icicles. Dystrophic and necrobiotic changes gradually appear, accompanied by wrinkling and fragmentation of the glomeruli (Fig. 18 &19).

Figure 18. Histological section of albino rat kidney with a radioactive cesium concentration in the whole body at 900 Bq/kg. Necrosis and fragmentation of glomeruli with cavity formation. Necrosis and hyaline droplet dystrophy of tubular epithelium. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Manification x250.

Figure 19. Histological section of kidney of a 71-year-old female patient in Gomel. She died of adhesions of abdominal cavity and right lung acute lobar pneumonia with consolidation and fibrino-purulent component, complicated by bilateral pulmonary edema. Radioactive cesium concentration in kidneys was 300 Bq/kg. Fluid accumulation in glomerular cavities. Hyaline droplets and hydropic dystrophy of tubular epithelium. Interstitial tissue edema. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification x125.

    Cavity formation without any marked cellular reaction is typical as the influence of radioactive cesium on kidney’s tissues. With the ability to cause hyper-contractions (excess contractions) of muscle fibers in arterioles, this radionuclide damages the processes of vascular microcirculation in kidneys. It should be noted that there is an absence of necessary inflammatory reactions of the body in response to the damages in kidneys and other organs. In our opinion, this is due to the suppression of synthesis of biologically active substances, such as inflammatory mediators, in specialized cells.
    Damaged glomeruli cease functioning. Histologic characteristics of kidneys under the influence of radioactive cesium are the same as those of thrombotic microangiopathy. 2   This is no coincidence. In both cases, the microcirculatory channeling system of nephron is blocked at the level of arterioles, leading to necrobiotic processes.
    Development of renal insufficiency is the reason for accumulation of metabolic waste products in the body. They have toxic effects, along with the toxic effects of radioactive cesium itself, on the vital organs and systems. Also characteristic are the inflammatory processes of serous membranes, particularly of pericardium (Fig. 20) and pleura (Fig. 21).
Figure 20. Histological section of animal myocardium with Cs-137 incorporation at 900 Bq/Kg in the body. Infiltration of epicardium and pericardium with neutrophils and lymphocytes. Pronounced myocytolysis. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification x125.

Figure 21. Histological section of animal lung with Cs-137 incorporation at 900 Bq/kg in the body. Plethora from rupture of blood vessels in the alveolar lumen. Infiltration of visceral pleura with neutrophilic leukocytes, lymphocytes and histiocytes. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification x125.

    Injuries to the vascular system of kidneys may be one of the main reasons for the increase in blood pressure, especially diastolic pressure, in children. However, considering the hidden, latent course of this pathological process, it could only manifest later, after ordinary medical treatments proved insufficient. Therefore, regular assessment of kidney and cardiac function must be done in children living in areas contaminated with radioactive cesium, using modern laboratory and technological diagnostic methods.
    Liver is also negatively affected by the influence of radioactive cesium. Individuals who lived in the Gomel region had significant levels of radioactive cesium in their liver. 6 In most of those cases, histologic examinations revealed marked dystrophic and necrobiotic changes in the hepatocytes (Fig. 22).

Figure 22. Histological section of liver from a 40-year-old Gomel resident who died of sudden death. Radioactive cesium concentration in the liver was 142 Bq/kg. Fat and protein degeneration with necrosis of hepatocytes. Stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Magnification x125.

    Similar changes were observed in the experimental animals under the influence of radioactive cesium. Immediately there was a disruption of the hepatocyte function, particularly synthetic and detoxifying functions.

    Impairment to the synthetic function of hepatocytes is manifested as a progressive decrease in the synthesis of L1-globulin and L2-globulin with an increasing concentration of radioactive cesium in the body. This will undoubtedly affect the state of metabolism in other organs, including the heart.
    Oxidation of steroid hormones, especially the adrenal cortical hormones, takes place in the liver. Also destruction of catecholamines, the hormones of adrenal medulla, noradrenaline and adrenalin, takes place by way of methylation reaction. A huge role of liver is detoxification of ammonia, by utilizing it in the synthesis of urea. Inefficiency in both synthetic and detoxifying functions of liver leads to the appearance of metabolic dysfunction, which leads to an adverse effect on the state of myocardium.
    Thus, metabolic dysfunction, occurring in the body incorporating radioactive cesium, may contribute to disturbances in the structure and function of cardiomyocytes.

Conclusion

    While working on this book, I kept thinking about the need to inform every civilized individual of the dangers of radioactive substances when incorporated into the body. Unfortunately, the attitude of the present society to this issue is, at best, indifference. We pay a very high price for this in the form of human lives. Intelligent ignorance leads to a tragedy. To a great extent the blame rests on medical scientists. Not only did they not try to inform population using previously obtained data, but they did not study adverse changes in the body due to incorporation of radionuclides.
    I am aware that this little book cannot make up for the lack of information on the existing problem. Nevertheless, I hope it will raise some interest, leading to discussion of the problem. This will undoubtedly be helpful.

    Based on the information presented, some conclusions can be drawn.

    Whether we like it or not, radionuclides, especially radioactive cesium, are present in our environment. Without any protective measures, they enter a human body mainly through food and water, becoming incorporated in organs and tissues. The greatest danger to human life represents the incorporation of radioactive cesium in the cardiac muscles of growing bodies.
    When myocardial cells are penetrated by the radionuclide Cs-137, structural and metabolic changes follow, leading to the energy deficits and disruption of their main functions, and in some cases death. A series of changes occur, indicating direct damage of the cardiac muscles as well as damage to many organs and systems regulating its activity. Cardiomyocytes are damaged not only directly due to radioactive cesium but also due to natural metabolites when there is disruption in their production, transport, binding, excretion, and degradation (Fig. 23).

Figure 23. Diagram for the influence of radioactive cesium on cardiomyocytes
(CPK=creatine phosphokinase, ATP=adenosine triphosphate)

    Degree of severity of pathological changes is directly dependent on the amount of radioactive cesium in the body and cardiac muscles. Long-term incorporation of the radionuclide in the body greater than 30 Bq/kg is highly undesirable, possibly leading to serious consequences.
    In most cases the effect of existing concentration of radioactive cesium in the body (10-20 Bq/kg) does not lead to death. However, the influence of radioactive cesium on the energy apparatus of cardiomyocytes significantly reduces their adaptive capacity. It might become impossible to function in a variety of stressful and ordinary situations, such as physical and mental stress, hypoxia, extreme temperature fluctuations, drinking alcohol, infections, and allergic diseases.
　
    It should be recognized that radioactive cesium is a potent damaging agent and it should be treated as a delayed poison to cell actions.

    Undermining the energetic mechanism for cardiomyocytes, it causes cardiomyopathy, characterized by cardiac rhythm disturbances, abnormalities in myocardial contractility, and spasms of peripheral blood vessels. It should be noted that the effect of incorporated radioactive cesium on humans and animals suggests its involvement in energetic and metabolic processes, primarily as a chemical element rather than a source of radiation. Nevertheless, the latter involvement, as a source of radiation, cannot be excluded completely. This is especially pronounced with prolonged exposure to small amounts of this radionuclide. The main reason for pathological changes of the kidney due to the influence of radioactive cesium is arteriole spasm, which causes necrosis of the glomerular loops and destruction of the nephron structures. The vasoconstrictive effect of cesium was noted by S.S. Botkin in 1888. 11

    Therefore, radioactive cesium is one of the major etiologic factors in high blood pressure in children living in radioactively contaminated areas. This has been confirmed by numerous observations. 20
    As the basis of prophylaxis of cardiovascular diseases in population living in the areas affected by the Chernobyl accident, relevant issues include the reduction of the amount of radionuclides, above all radioactive cesium, by reduction of its content in food as well as its elimination from the body with adsorbing agents. These measures will play an important role in improving the metabolism of myocardium.

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A Rebuttal to the January 11, 2013 Article by James Conca, "Like We've Been Saying -- Radiation is Not A Big Deal," Posted on Forbes Website

2013-02-06T20:13:00.000-06:00

In the January 11th Forbes article titled “Like We’ve Been Saying--Radiation Is Not A Big Deal,” the author, James Conca, claims that “the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has finally admitted that we can’t use the LNT (linear no-threshold dose) hypothesis to predict cancer from low doses of radiation.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2013/01/11/like-weve-been-saying-radiation-is-not-a-big-deal/

He refers to the “UNSCEAR 2012” as the source of information. His claim is that “radiation doses less than 10 rem (0.1 Sv) are “no big deal” and that the linear no-threshold dose hypothesis does not apply to doses less than 10 rem (0.1 Sv), which is the region encompassing background levels around the world, and is the region of most importance to nuclear energy, most medical procedures and most areas affected by accidents like Fukushima.”

The “UNSCEAR 2012” that he actually refers to by the link, http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_UN_approves_radiation_advice_1012121.html, is a post titled “UN approves radiation advice” on the World Nuclear News site. It was published on December 10, 2012, and appears to, somewhat misleadingly, refer to the contents of the Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation Fifty-ninth session (21-25 May 2012), which is the United Nations General Assembly Official Records Sixty-seventh session Supplement No. 46 (hereafter referred to as “UN document A/67/46”).   http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/67/46 (Conca added this link at the end of the second paragraph of his article over a week after it was published. When the article was printed out on January 17, this link wasn’t there, necessitating the hunt for the source of his information in the corresponding United Nations General Assembly proceedings).

In particular, it appears to refer to the section (f) of paragraph 25 on page 10, as below, to declare that “the United Nations is to adopt advice on radiation that clarifies what can be said about its health effects on individuals and large populations.”

“(f) In general, increases in the incidence of health effects in populations cannot be attributed reliably to chronic exposure to radiation at levels that are typical of the global average background levels of radiation. This is because of the uncertainties associated with the assessment of risks at low doses, the current absence of radiation-specific biomarkers for health effects and the insufficient statistical power of epidemiological studies. Therefore, the Scientific Committee does not recommend multiplying very low doses by large numbers of individuals to estimate numbers of radiation-induced health effects within a population exposed to incremental doses at levels equivalent to or lower than natural background levels;”

However, the UNSCEAR report merely states that it “does not recommend,” which isn’t the same as declaring it will regulate what “can be said.” The unidentified author of the post seems to be inferring that the UNSCEAR controls who says what about the radiation effects.

Conca, in the Forbes article, takes it one step further, by placing the statement below the “official” UNSCEAR logo: “The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has finally admitted that we can’t use the LNT (linear no-threshold dose) hypothesis to predict cancer from low doses of radiation. Now the Japanese people can start eating their own food again and stop being as afraid. Source: United Nations.” This juxtaposition of his opinion next to the UNSCEAR logo could easily make readers misconstrue that the statement is the official statement by the UNSCEAR.

As for Conca’s claim that radiation doses less than 10 rem (0.1 Sv) are “no big deal” and that
“the linear no-threshold dose hypothesis does not apply to doses less than 10 rem (0.1 Sv), which is the region encompassing background levels around the world,” it simply is a mystery how he seems to have reached such a conclusion, seemingly straight out of thin air.

First, nowhere in the UNSCEAR document he links to, “UN document A/67/46,” does it mention 10 rem (0.1 Sv) as “no big deal” or applying to “the region encompassing background levels around the world.” However, the paragraph 25(f) excerpted above does refer to “chronic exposure to radiation at levels that are typical of the global average background levels of radiation.” Is it possible that he took a liberal interpretation of “the global average background levels of radiation” to mean the highest background levels in rare locations, HBRAs, such as Ramsar, Iran?

According to paragraph 92 on page 111 of UNSCEAR 2000 Annex B: Exposures from natural radiation sources, “worldwide annual exposures to natural radiation sources would generally be expected to be in the range 1-10 mSv, with 2.4 mSv being the present estimate of the central value.”
http://www.unscear.org/unscear/publications/2000_1.html

Secondly, radiation doses less than 10 rem (0.1 Sv or 100 mSv) are not a “no big deal” situation as claimed by Conca. The 2012 meta-analysis by evolutionary biologists Anders Moller (France) and Timothy Mousseau (United States), “The effects of natural variation in background radioactivity on humans, animals and other organisms,” found evidence of significant effects of natural variation in background radiation on mutation rates, DNA damage/repair, immunology and disease including cancer.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2012.00249.x/pdf

Radiation effects from exposures well below 10 rem (0.1 Sv or 100 mSv), including background radiation, medical exposure, leukemias in Chernobyl clean-up workers as well as leukemias near nuclear power stations, are discussed by the British radiation biologist, Ian Fairlie.
http://www.ianfairlie.org/news/recent-evidence-on-the-risks-of-very-low-level-radiation/
http://www.ianfairlie.org/news/a-100-msv-threshold-for-radiation-effects/

Thirdly, it is untrue that the LNT hypothesis does not apply to doses below 10 rem (0.1 Sv or 100 mSv). Fairlie discusses very large studies with statistically significant results at very low doses, even down to background levels, showing the linear shape of the dose response relationship down to low doses.
http://www.ianfairlie.org/news/the-linear-no-threshold-theory-of-radiation-risks/

Contrary to Conca’s claim that Japan cut the accepted global limit of 1,000 Bq/kg cesium level in half hoping it would have a calming influence on public’s radiation fear, Japan actually already had guidelines established to be used in case of emergency. So the initial regulatory limit of 500 Bq/kg of cesium was not a compromise by the Japanese government for the purpose of “easing” the public fear. It has now been lowered to 100 Bq/kg. The U.S. regulatory limit is outrageously high at 1,200 Bq/kg. This means any radiation tests conducted on Japan imports in the United States immediately after the accident were practically useless, even though the result might have been below the derived intervention level (DIL) of 1,200 Bq/kg.
http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm247403.htm

Besides, the current regulatory limit for milk Conca mentioned in his article is not even accurate in that it is not 200 Bq/kg, but 50 Bq/kg.

The statement, “Accepted global limits on radioactivity levels in foods is 1,000 Bq/kg (1,200 Bq/kg in the U.S.),” is a little misleading in terms of who “accepts” these numbers. These high numbers are apparently set by those interested in protecting and promoting advancement of nuclear energy and imposed upon people who don’t really even know what the numbers mean. On the other hand, those whose interests lie in protecting physical well-being and lives of people, apparently have other perspectives, such as not accepting these limits of 1,000 and 1,200 Bq/kg.

The primary fact is that there is no dose of radiation that is recognized to be harmless, as excerpted from the report, “Calculated Fatalities from Radiation.”

“Setting official maximum levels of radionuclides to be tolerated in food is supposed to protect the population from danger. But, in contrast to chemical toxins, there is no threshold below which radioactivity is harmless. Thus there is also no dose of radiation, no matter how small, that is harmless, benign or unobjectionable. The authority (government or international organization) that recommends or sets standards, or maximum permissible value limits, basically decides on how many fatalities or cases of illness will be acceptable in a given situation.”
foodwatch.de/foodwatch/content/e10/e42688/e44884/e44993/CalculatedFatalitiesfromRadiation_Reportfoodwatch-IPPNW2011-09-20_ger.pdf

In fact, foodwatch, an European consumer rights group, and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) Germany called for lowering of the permissible limits of radioactive cesium to 8 Bq/kg for baby food and 16 Bq/kg for all other foods, based on the maximum annual effective radiation dose of 0.3 mSv, which is the maximum exposure limit set out in Germany’s radiation protection legislation for normal operations in nuclear power plants.
http://www.ippnw-europe.org/?expand=681&cHash=02aa1d26e8

Based on Conca’s statements in the comment section of his article, he seems to think a “little bit of cesium ingested” is harmless as it is excreted from the body. But is it really harmless? Does radioactive cesium simply get distributed to mostly muscles, as generally recognized, and eventually excreted without doing any harm?

An exiled Belarusian anatomical pathologist Bandazhevsky, now living in Ukraine, showed that radioactive cesium accumulated in various organs in the body, other than skeletal muscles. He claimed that radioactive cesium affected multiple organ systems, especially cardiac muscles, causing arrhythmia and sudden cardiac deaths.

In the study published on January 23, 2013, “Artificial Radionuclides in Abandoned Cattle in the Evacuation Zone of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant,” a team of Japanese researchers showed how cesium accumulated in various organs of cows.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0054312

We have no way of knowing if the accumulated cesium would have eventually caused cancer in these cows, or if they were physically ill before euthanized according to the government order to kill animals left behind in the evacuation zone. However, it is a little hard to imagine the accumulated radioactive cesium causing no harm in delicate cells and tissues of these organs, such as heart, kidney, liver, lungs, bladder, thyroid, etc.

Conca states that as UNSCEAR found no observable health effects from the Fukushima nuclear accident, the Japanese people can start eating their own food again and moving back into areas only lightly contaminated with radiation levels that are similar to background in many areas of the world.

According to paragraph 8 on page 4 of the UNSCEAR report, “UN document A/67/46,” sources of data for the Committee’s evaluation included the Japanese government, United Nations Member States, and other organizations such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). They also used information and analyses published in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as measurements uploaded by the public on crowdsourcing websites.

As the UNSCEAR only considers cancer and heritable effects important in establishing radiation risk estimates for low dose exposures, it is not surprising that they concluded that
“No health effects have been attributed to radiation exposure observed among workers or children or any other members of the population.” in paragraph 9(a). At 22 months after the accident, it is considered too soon for radiation-induced cancer to develop, and Japanese government and Fukushima Prefecture do not seem to be actively conducting epidemiological studies in showing heritable effects such as congenital deformities.

However, in reality, there are unofficial accounts of birth defects such as anencephaly and leukemia, not only in Fukushima Prefecture but also in Tokyo and the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo. In addition, a variety of symptoms such as nosebleeds, rash, fatigue, and spread as well as recurrence of infections have been reported in Tokyo and the Kanto region, in addition to increased incidence of abnormal EKG in school children in some areas. Reports of thyroid disorders, such as Hashimoto’s disease and subacute thyroiditis are heard more frequently. Leukopenia has been reported in children in Tokyo and the Kanto region.

TEPCO workers and external contractors involved in the on-site clean-up activities are not reported to have any health effects, but there are no studies or data published to back up that claim. In other words, we have no objective evidence that no health effects have occurred to those workers. There have been at least 5 workers who have died since the accident, with the last reported death being from August 2012, and in some cases their causes of death were not revealed by TEPCO, citing privacy protection. Other than these five, two other TEPCO employees were found dead in the reactor 4 turbine building.

It is not clear where Conca derived information in the following clause, “Radiation played no role in the coincidental deaths of six Fukushima workers in the time since the accident, who died from accidents, e.g. being crushed by debris or being swept out to sea.” Insinuating, without any concrete evidence, that six workers died from accidents is absurd - are there videotapes or eye witness reports to corroborate his claim? Does he honestly know what "really" happened in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami?

The first worker to die was a 60-year-old man who died of “heart attack” on his second day of work. He was one of many “seasonal nuclear power plant workers” who would go to various nuclear power plants on demand. These workers might not know what their cumulative radiation exposure doses are. Sudden cardiac deaths are often called “heart attacks.” In view of this, this man’s “heart attack” could be the result of long-term exposure.

A worker in his 40’s died of acute leukemia in mid-August, 2011, after working at Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP for one week in the beginning of August. His exposure dose was supposedly 0.5 mSv, and TEPCO denied any relationship between his leukemia and radiation. It was not known if he might have had any other occupational radiation exposure prior to his work at Fukushima Dai-ichi, but TEPCO had no intention of investigating his death any further.

Another worker whose circumstance of death has been publicized, was a 57-year-old man who was found unconscious as he was resting after not feeling well on August 22, 2012. He was dead on arrival at the hospital. After working at Fukushima Dai-ichi for one year, his cumulative dose was 25 mSv.

Paragraph 9(e) mentions thyroid monitoring, which was conducted on 1,083 children (544 boys and 539 girls) in Iitate village, Kawamata town and Iwaki-city in late March, 2011, showing no individual exceeding a screening level of 0.2 μSv/h that was derived from a thyroid dose of 100 mSv.

The following is excerpted from the proceedings of the United Nations Sixty-seventh General Assembly Fourth Committee, which was held on November 13, 2012.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/gaspd523.doc.htm

“Maximum dose reported was ‘35 mSv,’ which , he said, was reassuring, because that was significantly lower than what had been observed after the Chernobyl incident. ‘That good news must be underlined,’ asserted the representative of Argentina.”

This thyroid screening was done on March 26-27, 2011 in Iwaki-city, on March 28-30, 2011 in Kawamata town, and on March 29-30, 2011 in Iitate village. In Iitate village, the background radiation level was so high, over 10 μSv/h in some cases, and they had to scurry around to find almost a cubby-hole like area in a city hall with a background level of 0.2 μSv/h, where 300 children were screened. For the whole group including Iitate village children, 55% was 0 μSv/h and 26% was 0.01 μSv/h, and 99% was under 0.04 μSv/h. The highest was 0.1 μSv/h. Under such high background conditions, can accurate measurements verifiably be conducted?

Nevertheless, the most recently published results of the thyroid ultrasound examination, conducted as part of the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, shows 38,327 (39.9%) of 95,954 children with abnormalities. There are about 360,000 children in Fukushima Prefecture, and the initial round of the ultrasound examination is still ongoing.
www.fmu.ac.jp/radiationhealth/results/media/9-2_Thyroid.pdf

Although Conca wrote in the Forbes article, “UNSCEAR also found no observable health effects from last year’s nuclear accident in Fukushima. No effects,” truth might be far from it.

With due respect, the studies by WHO and Tokyo University which Conca refers to, apparently excerpted from his favorite source, the World Nuclear News post, might not reflect accurate information, although exactly which studies he is referring to is unclear. If it is WHO’s “Preliminary Dose Estimation from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami” that he is referring to, it was most likely based on official information from the Japanese government. http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/pub_meet/fukushima_dose_assessment/en/index.html

The Japanese government did issue an evacuation order for the 20-km zone, but the actual evacuation process was chaotic, and in some cases people went in the direction of the radioactive plume as the government failed to disclose information from the System for Prediction of Environment Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI). Some evacuees simply went to other parts of Fukushima Prefecture, which also received radioactive plume. It is not so cut-and-clean “evacuating Fukushima Prefecture quickly” type of business. Stable iodine was not administered to people other than one municipality, Miharu town, whose mayor bravely decided to administer it to the town residents against the advice of Fukushima Prefecture. Such details are often not included in the official documentation and not readily available to those seeking information from overseas.

Actually, it is not just Fukushima Prefecture that received a significant amount of radiation contamination. The path of the plume went north and east initially, but then it turned south and covered a wide area including Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region.

This is a recently broadcast simulation of iodine 131 using newly discovered data from a monitoring post located 5 km west of Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP. Tokyo received a radioactive plume, especially highly concentrated between 9am and 12pm on March 15, 2011.

In regards to the Tokyo University studies, Conca could be referring to “Internal Radiation Exposure After the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster,” which reports “low exposure levels.” http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1346169

However, the validity of the results of this study may be in question for a few reasons. First, internal radiation exposure was measured using a whole body counter (WBC), which only measures gamma radiation. Radioactive cesium actually emits beta radiation and decays to radioactive barium, which emits gamma radiation. Therefore, a WBC count, only including gamma radiation measurements, is not a true reflection of internal radiation exposure from all potential radionuclides which might have been released as a result of the accident. In addition, the detection limits were rather high at 210 to 250 Bq.

It is curious how Conca is encouraging consumption of still contaminated food, albeit how little or large, and resettlement of “only lightly contaminated areas.” The very same things have been pushed by the Japanese government in the name of “recovery” effort. In fact, Nikkei Newspaper, a major financial newspaper in Japan, published a full Japanese translation of Conca’s Forbes article online on January 17, 2013.
http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZZO50651160W3A110C1000000/

It is indeed curious that both Forbes and Nikkei Newspaper are “financial” publications. It appears that those whose interests are “finances” want to minimize health effects of radiation or radioactive contamination so that they can push their “peaceful” use of nuclear power, and they seem blind to the basic human rights of being able to breathe clean air and eat clean food.

He certainly seems excited about his specialty area of nuclear waste disposal, and at least Conca is correct in pointing out that decontamination effort that is passing for clean-up so far has been a huge waste of money by just moving dirt and leaves around. However, does he even know that some disaster debris with some degree of radioactive contamination is being transported all over Japan, at a great expense, to be incinerated? He probably doesn’t know, as he seems to spend very little time conducting research verifying facts prior to writing his articles.

Are the Japanese people being punished for some unspoken reason by having lower radiation levels in food? Is it really criminal to continue applying LNT dose effects for doses less than 100 mSv?

He is certainly entitled to having his own opinions, no matter how ”prevaricating” it sounds. (Conca himself used the word “prevaricating” in his article, stating that UNSCEAR needs to stop procrastinating and “prevaricating.”) However, observing the way he rants about “less than 100 mSv being nothing,” the infamous “Mr. 100 mSv” Shunichi Yamashita of Fukushima Medical University might have a newfound friend. And what is really criminal is to make Japanese people eat food contaminated with radiation no matter how little the contamination is, regardless of the “accepted global limits.”

Voices of Support For Professor Masaki Shimoji During His Detention

2012-12-31T17:09:00.001-06:00

Professor Masaki Shimoji said that voices of support, including the signature campaign, for his release were critical in him getting released without indictment.

These are the websites that featured the FukushimaVoice articles in regards to his detention.

http://enenews.com/crackdown-japanese-professors-arrest-extremely-unjust-publicly-oppossed-burning-radiaoctive-debris

http://nuclear-news.net/2012/12/15/crackdown-japanese-professors-arrest-extremely-unjust-publicly-opposed-burning-of-radioactive-debris/

http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/atomicage/2012/12/15/unjust-arrest-of-a-professor-opposing-debris-incineration-in-osaka-%E4%B8%8B%E5%9C%B0%E7%9C%9F%E6%A8%B9%E4%B8%8D%E6%B3%95%E9%80%AE%E6%8D%95via-fukushima-voice/

http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/demand-for-immediate-and-unconditional.html

http://www.save-children-from-radiation.org/

http://www.afaz.at/index_long.html#jump13

http://ameblo.jp/ryuujin55/entry-11427330804.html

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These are the statements sent in from individuals in support of Professor Shimoji’s release.

December 14, 2012

Professor Shimoji is a brave and moral man who is worried about his students and future generations. It is imperative that he be supported in his quest to halt incineration of radioactive waste in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan as this will add to the misery, sickness and deaths that will be the Fukushima legacy.

Helen Caldicott

下地教授は、学生や次世代の人々を気遣う、勇敢で道徳心のある人物です。大阪あるいは日本のその他の地域において、苦しみ、病、死といった福島の遺産を増やすことからも、下地教授の追求する放射能汚染瓦礫焼却停止を、私達がサポートすることは必須です。

ヘレン・カルディコット

****************
December 17, 2012

Incarceration and incineration - Not good solutions
Gary Headrick

Those of us living alongside the defective San Onofre nuclear reactors, like others in similar situations around the globe empathize with the people of Japan who are having to live through what is our own worst nightmare. They have been exposed to uncertain amounts of radiation since 3/11/11 and wait helplessly for real solutions to this on-going situation. During that time real concerns about radiation exposure from the contaminated environment haunt them every day. The threat continues to grow with the expectation of another large earthquake capable of toppling Unit 4 and creating a much worse situation. We are deeply disappointed and concerned that Japan would consider incineration as a possible solution to the problem when it will actually make things far worse in Japan and around the world. Equally bad is the policy to arrest those who are brave enough to question the risks involved in such an extremely reckless policy.

The rest of the world watches to see what example the Japanese people will provide in dealing with such disasters. While some slow progress is being made in the government and the nuclear industry accepting responsibility for causing the disaster, much more important progress must be made in the way these immense problems are resolved. We stand firmly with those who oppose nuclear power and who call for responsible leadership in this crisis. Please halt any more experimental incineration of radioactive waste and unjustified arrests of those who have reasonable concerns and want to find viable solutions.

It is true that we have our own weaknesses and reckless behavior with the nuclear industry in the United States, so our message is not meant to be judgmental. It is with compassion and concern as citizens of this planet that we help each other through these difficult times. Please recognize that the path you are on should be reversed and listen to your people instead of trying to hide the harmful truth from them and all of us. Together we can work towards real solutions and reinvent the broken political systems that allowed this avoidable disaster to happen in the first place. We can all do better, but the world is counting on Japan to do the right thing at this critical moment in history. Our future is tied to yours and we will continue to support the people of Japan who seek reasonable solutions to a complex and dangerous situation with our help, hope and compassion.

Gary Headrick
Co-founder of San Clemente Green (a group of more than 2000 concerned citizens)
http://www.sanclementegreen.org/

****************
December 18, 2012

Hi

My name is Brett Burnard Stokes and I live in South Australia where some of the Fukushima fuel uranium was mined.

I am a scientist and a graduate of Adelaide University, where Nuclear Advocacy Fraud is ongoing, with the University telling lies to promote uranium mining and nuclear energy and to provide alibis for those who make immoral decisions to mine and export uranium.

I write now in support of freeing Professor Shimoji, a man who has spoken out against the lies that are used as alibis to authorise the sacrifice of our children's lives.

One of those lies is that "dilution is the solution to pollution" which is totally not applicable to the well known dangers posed by radioactive poisons ingested into the bodies of mothers and children.

The incineration of radioactive waste is a crime against humanity.

The incineration of radioactive waste is a crime against the children of Japan.

Best wishes

from
Brett Stokes
Adelaide Applied Algebra

************
December 18, 2012

I support freeing Professor Shimoji.

下地教授の解放を強く希望します。

Chiharu Takeda
Australia

****************
December 26, 2012
My name is Aiko/Kazuko Kurosaki, I live in Austria since my childhood but originally I was born in Japan. I am an artist working in the field of dance, performance and choreographie. Since the nuclear disaster in fukushima happened I’ve done several works referring to that catastrophe - the biggest one was last August organising a dying-flashmob/performance inside the Vienna International Center (UNO-City) in front of the IAEA during the <genbaku no hi> ceremony as a silent protest against the reopening of the nuclear power plants in Japan and the abuse of nuclear power in general.

I´m shocked and very worried that in such democratic and highly developed country like Japan people like Mr. Shimoji can get arrested by the police. I thought in Japan there is freedom of opinion and freedom of speech.

Therefore I want to support the movement of freeing Mr. Shimoji.

Sincerely,

Aiko/Kazuko Kurosaki (Aiko is my artistic name)

Kazuko Kurosaki
Austria

Last Letters from Jail: Professor Masaki Shimoji Now Released

2012-12-29T16:11:00.003-06:00

Professor Masaki Shimoji and one of his fellow protesters were released from jail on December 28. However, another protester remained in detention and was indicted on a charge of forcible obstruction of business.
Professor Shimoji’s last letters written in jail depict critical issues permeating through the corrupt criminal justice system in Japan. His concern for the future of young people, including young police officers in Japan should not be taken lightly.
Now out of jail, Professor Shimoji is back in full swing trying to stop the disaster debris incineration in Osaka and to free his fellow protesters from jail.

For the circumstances regarding unjust arrest of Professor Masaki Shimoji who was jailed on December 9th for opposing the debris incineration in Osaka, please refer to the following link:
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/unjust-arrest-of-professor-opposing.html

＊＊＊

Written opinion for the December 18th court hearing for indication of the reasons for detention by Masaki Shimoji

In court, I explained in detail what I remember. As a result, even in the midst of confusion of factual relationships, “Request for Detention” was turned down once. I thought it was a matter of course since the alleged facts of crime in the arrest warrant were nonsense to begin with. However, somehow, after a long wait, a decision was made for detention again. Moreover, the reason for the decision was total nonsense not based on any objective evidence. I wonder what happened to independence of justice.

This morning there was an investigation by the public prosecutor, but even the prosecutor said the alleged facts of crime included only a few statements regarding my conduct.

The reason for my detention is supposedly the “fear of destruction of proof of crime.” In other words, they seem to think I would conspire with interested parties to try to destroy evidence. However, I told the judge everything at a private pre-hearing session. Why do I need to conspire with others at this time?

Rather, isn’t it the police and the security company, which provides posts to many former police officers under the “amakudari” arrangement, that are actually conspiring? If they think there is no such possibility, what are the grounds for it? It is not a simple matter of what the actual witnesses did in their former jobs. As they are in the closely related trade, such background should be taken into consideration. Isn’t it true?

During civic movements I have been involved with, I have often protested against unfair interference by police with activities of expression on streets. They say “permission is necessary” even for things that don’t require permission. If we raise an objection saying “It’s not true” and question them, they often withdraw dejectedly. Of course they never apologize, and they tell the same lie on another day. There is no improvement at all. That is why I have patiently repeated protests in order to show and tell as many people as possible how unfair their action is. As a result, I think more people have become aware of, protesting unfair police action.

Unfair police action is not limited to interference with expression on streets, but that is the matter I have raised with perseverance. I have done so hoping to improve the world. Then police began to call me by my name or job title. Their intention was to threaten me. If police officers call me by name, I would ask to see their police identification cards, but they rarely agree. Isn’t this a breach of the rules? More than anything, I feel bad for young police officers who are given such senseless work. I feel bad all the more so because they include students I have taught.

It is a matter of fact that the October 5th arrest of Mr. A at the protest rally in front of KEPCO was unjust for the following reasons: There were more police officers present that day than ever; and the videotape captured the fall that was the basis of the allegation.

Osaka Prefectural Police have known me for a long time. Was I an eyesore to them because I would point out and object unfair police actions? Instead of inspecting how their work should be so that they could improve what could be improved, they, in resentment, exercise their power of authority to incriminate me. Isn’t this suitable for the crime of Abuse of Authority by Special Public Officials? This is nothing more than a children’s fight.

The public prosecutors which should be admonishing reckless police side with them. Court which should check and prevent such unjust action easily sanction it. What has happened to criminal justice in this country?

The public prosecutor talked as if keeping silent will increase the need for detention. However, precisely because police might abuse power of authority for private reasons, the right to keep silent is an important right.

Both arrests and detention are significant restrictions of human rights. I ask the court to strictly demand objective facts.

Of late, individuals who have severely protested unfair interference and unfair action by the Osaka Prefectural Police have been arrested and indicted one after another. This is an unusual situation reminiscent of the Special Higher Police before World War II. I would like to remind people that the court is under a significant responsibility of either inviting or stopping the repeat of the dark ages of criminal justice.

This is not a minor case at all. Court needs to remain vigilant in upholding legitimate law.

December 18, 2012
Masaki Shimoji

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Original Japanese version can be found in the following link:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/garekitaiho1113/e/53b68149a11ef509210efa789aa31ade

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＊＊＊

Letter written on December 19, 2012

During my meeting with the public prosecutor, I told him several reasons why none of the alleged facts of crime in the arrest warrant were true at all. He said something like, “Why don’t you just tell me everything honestly? If you remain silent, we can’t help but detain you.” However, this is insane.

The police organization has absolute powers of authority in deciding what and who to investigate and send to the public prosecutor’s office. There is a chance that they might use the power of authority in order to privately benefit individuals making up the police organization. This is a matter of fact in terms of public economics (public choice theory). As unjustified resentment for protest against the unjust police action, or as a favor to KEPCO which is one of the important sources of parachuting officials, they will arrest those involved in citizens’ action. This is nothing surprising about this at all. The prosecutor’s office has a view that police are fundamentally good. This won’t help at all.

That is why, for the victims of the abuse of power of authority to be protected, it is necessary to guarantee “as the right” the right to not cooperate with those who maliciously abuse the power of authority. “Detention because of exercising the right to remain silent” is essentially absurd.

”What’s doubtful should be a benefit to defendant” is not for a real trial only. Both arrests and detention are significant restrictions of rights, and they should be extremely carefully applied. Current application is equal to saying, “Police can, at its own convenience, initiate 20-day imprisonment, at will.” Current situation is absolutely terrible. Objective evidence should be demanded for either arrests or detention. The period of detention should be strictly limited.

Doubt in order to believe someone. It’s a phrase by one of the main characters (Is it Akiyama?) from a comic called “Liar Game.”

Police can make mistakes. They do bad things. The reason why you doubt them on that ground is to discover what is left to be believable. Someone who believes that “Police don’t maliciously investigate or send someone to the public prosecutor’s office.” is overly soft-headed. Or else the person is, in short, irresponsible, as “he/she won’t be bothered by someone who is actually making mistakes and doing bad deeds.” (Actually, there is a possibility it could be worse).

In the first place, Japanese legal statistics include abnormal numbers compared to foreign countries such as 99.9% guilty verdict rate and a probability for permission for detention.

They might say, “Guilty verdict rate is 99.9% because only absolutely guilty cases are indicted.” This can be understandable as a personal belief, but it’s absurd as knowledge of social science.

Power always corrupts, but a system relying on individual morals corrupts at a more severe level. It’s because it’s equal to being ungoverned.

It is necessary to analyze the Japanese criminal trial system from a social science point of view. It is necessary to conduct an opinion poll of public prosecutors and judges (for instance in regards to the meaning of the right to remain silent, the possibility of abuse of power, and the importance of restricting rights to arrest and detain, etc.) Researchers are needed to visualize “conscience” of criminal justice. Is anybody doing such research?

I am sometimes asked if I am afraid of police. Of course I am not unafraid of police. I am adapting to the environment of jail and learning something here. However, violation of human rights being imposed on me is tremendously terrible.

I am rather afraid of the world where one is afraid of police when having done nothing wrong, the world where people take for granted without any doubt that “one is afraid of police when having done nothing wrong,” and the world where everyone remains silent. Moreover, situations are getting worse.

Such a world is a terrible place for police officers, especially young police officers. Is there anything we can do to change the situation for them?

Other than police officers, when I see faces of young people, I feel hope and joy without reason, but at the same time I feel apologetic to them. The state of the world we are leaving for them is, currently, absolutely terrible. Let’s improve it even a little bit with our power.

In addition to issues of nuclear power plants and radiation, we must immediately deal with the danger of this country becoming a police state. What we can do in the next one to two years will greatly alter our future. Especially those of you called “scholars,” there will be no other opportunity unless you act on it now. We must do it now.

December 19, 2012
Masaki Shimoji

Original Japanese version can be found in the following link:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/garekitaiho1113/e/b09b2706b4dd4f5ae75d4e394a5fc5fe

Statement from Dr. Helen Caldicott in support of Professor Shimoji

Professor Shimoji is a brave and moral man who is worried about his students and future generations. It is imperative that he be supported in his quest to halt incineration of radioactive waste in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan as this will add to the misery, sickness and deaths that will be the Fukushima legacy.

Helen Caldicott

ヘレン・カルディコット博士からの声明文

下地教授は、学生や次世代の人々を気遣う、勇敢で道徳心のある人物です。大阪あるいは日本のその他の地域において、苦しみ、病、死といった福島の遺産を増やすことからも、下地教授の追求する放射能汚染瓦礫焼却停止を、私達がサポートすることは必須です。

ヘレン・カルディコット

We are collecting individual and group statements from all over the world in support of freeing Professor Shimoji. Please send them with your name, name of your organization if any, and your address to frcsrus@gmail.com.

Obaa-chan and Nappa Cabbage Radiation Test

2012-12-23T16:55:00.001-06:00

I am a temporary worker at a radiation food measurement center.

Today, an elderly old lady came.
She heard about us from someone.

She was a very polite, old-fashioned type person.

She brought nappa cabbage leaves cut up into large chunks.

The leaves should really have been cut up into small pieces.

However, we are not allowed to cut them up here.
I pushed and smashed them into the container for taking a measurement.

The elderly lady came back into the center three hours later, deeply bowing her head.

She said, “Thank you for doing the measurement.”

Fortunately, the nappa cabbage measurement was ND (Not Detected).

I told her so.

But she had no idea what that meant.

I have explained to others about it here several times before.

But they just don’t understand becquerel and sievert.

What came out of her mouth was what I always hear....

“Is it safe for me to eat?”

This instrument only measures gamma radiation.

I thought about telling her that it did not measure radioactive strontium, but I just couldn’t.

I said, “Obaa-chan, this vegetable came out low! Low cesium!”

She smiled and asked, “Is it safe for my grandchildren to eat it?”

I couldn’t answer it....
I didn’t know it myself.

So I talked to her about radiation.
For about 30 minutes.

I don’t think she understood what I explained.

However, that old lady was crying.

She lived alone and nobody was teaching her anything.

TV said it was okay, but she couldn’t believe it....

But she cried when she heard my explanation, saying nobody was so kind to teach her all that.

She joined her hand in prayer, bowing to me.

I said, “I hope you live a long life, Obaa-chan.”

I didn’t know what else to say.

I just cried with her.

What in the world is “Japan” doing?

********************************************************************
Original Japanese version can be found in the following link:
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/kegq13

Fourth Letter from Jailed Professor Shimoji

2012-12-22T21:59:00.001-06:00

On December 19, 2012, which was when Professor Shimoji and another man were supposed to be released from detention, Osaka District Court decided to extend the period of detention. Professor Shimoji’s detention was extended by nine days, which makes the end of his detention December 28th.

For the previous letters from Professor Masaki Shimoji who has been jailed since December 9th for opposing the debris incineration in Osaka, please refer to the following links:
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/unjust-arrest-of-professor-opposing.html
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-second-letter-from-jailed-professor.html
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/third-letter-from-jailed-professor.html?spref=tw

＊＊＊

Please sign this petition to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Associate Professor Masaki Shimoji.

http://keepcivicactivity.jimdo.com/english/

＊＊＊

Consideration on Why Unjust Arrests Continue
by Masaki Shimoji

Last night I thought about why the police would do something this stupid. Of course, I already know why, but I decided to reexamine it, taking into consideration what I have seen and heard since my arrest.

In summary, the police (or actually Public Security Division 3) cannot help being afraid of citizens who protest the police.

On October 5th, they unjustly arrested Mr. A in front of the KEPCO headquarter. A police officer fell on his own, but he lied that he was “pushed down” by Mr. A and arrested him. They probably thought they would scare citizens participating in protest activities a little, for the sake of KEPCO which offers lucrative positions to former police officials.

However, surprisingly to the police, an unexpected chain of events happened.
First, the decisive moment of travesty of justice was publicly videotaped.　
Secondly, voices of anger towards this unjust action of the police were widely spread.
They must have been flustered with the continuing protest in front of Temma police station and the criticism of police coming in from all over Japan. They kept responding in an even more abominable and insincere fashion, which led to more criticism coming in.

They actually had one chance to think it over. All they had to do was release Mr. A and back down. However, the more foolish someone is, the more they rush into a huge gamble in order to recover the loss. Police began to commit a reckless act of arresting supporters of Mr. A, one after another. Many of Mr. A’s supporters and those who were calling people to protest the police got arrested. Instead of thinking over their own bad deed, they, as offenders, became angry at the victims. They should be pitied.

At least one of the background of a series of oppressive acts was the protest against the unjust arrest on October 5th. In regards to this matter, I would like to confirm at least two points.

(1) There is a videotape that captured the decisive moment of travesty of justice. It’s available on the Internet. There is a blog that analyzed still images from the video. Please share this with as many people as possible.　

＊＊＊

Videotape that captured the decisive moment of travesty of justice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9wCH6IFZMM&feature=youtu.be
(Around 2 minute and 40 seconds into the video, it appears that a police officer falls on top of a woman who begins to scream about the pain. Mr. A, in a beige shirt and having been questioned by the police officer in the beginning of the video, is pulled down on top of the police officer. After this, other police officers pull Mr. A away and lead him towards the police car).

A blog analyzing still images from the video:
http://portirland.blogspot.com/2012/10/hangenpatu-demo-taiho-kanden-houdou.html
(The woman who fell describes that she fell first and the police officer, who was grabbing Mr. A, tripped over her leg and fell on his bottom, still grabbing Mr. A).

＊＊＊

However, they might simply say the police officer “abruptly grabbed the sleeve when he was pushed down.” So, please share with as many people as possible the following explanation of circumstances leading up to the October 5th arrest of Mr. A.

(2) There is the fact that police suddenly rushed out on October 5th, while remaining quiet during the whole month of September in front of KEPCO headquarters. In August, there was a protest against their unjust interference of the protest action, which revealed lies in their words in the eyes of the public. Many present there began to call aloud, “Go home, police.” This was streamed live on the Internet, leading to even more criticism. They couldn’t stand the cold look by citizens, so they stopped all the interference during the month of September. However, that totally changed on October 5. Suddenly, once more, many police officers were present and closing in on the citizens, intimidating them with violent words. On some occasions, a single citizen would be surrounded by multiple police officers. “This feels different today” was what was perceived by many people that day.
It was under these circumstances that the travesty of justice was carried out. A violent person “happened” to push down a police officer when many police officers “happened” to be present at the scene. Is this how it went? No way. Anybody would think that “From the beginning, the police were going to arrest one person.”

(I have written a summary of these events in the number 11 issue of the Internet magazine called “Kesaran Pasaran.” Please read it if you are interested. http://www.kesaranpasaran.net/)

Let’s step back and consider “the possibility that Mr. A pushed the police officer down.” What is the basis for this? It’s nothing more than the statement by the police officer himself that “he was pushed down.” The arrest itself was unjust but how could they justify detainment, let alone indictment.

Police (actually Public Security Division 3) are simply being obstinate; in other words it’s nothing more than kids picking a fight. All I can say is that It’s truly shameful.   Those being tested are not those of us who got arrested but actually the National Security Division 3 and the security division of Osaka Prefectural Police.

(Written on December 17, 2012)

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Message from Professor Shimoji

“I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who is pouring love to me just as usual or even more than usual even though I am in jail. I love all of you more than ever.”
“Letters can be sent to the jail in a regular manner despite censorship. If you like, please send me letters. I would like to know anything that is going on outside the jail as much as possible.”

Address: Masaki Shimoji
               Detention Facilities
               Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarter
               3-1-11 Otemae
               Chuo-ku, Osaka 540-8540
               Japan

               〒540-8540
               大阪市中央区大手前３丁目１番１１号
               大阪府警察本部　留置施設内
               下地真樹

Original Japanese article can be found in the following link:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/garekitaiho1113/e/ed6af0424c23c222e282bc07da34e195

Video of Professor Masaki Shimoji protesting against the incineration of disaster debris in Osaka on August 30, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm-FPZ-9Zi0

＊＊＊

Statement from Dr. Helen Caldicott in support of Professor Shimoji

Professor
Shimoji is a brave and moral man who is worried about his students and
future generations. It is imperative that he be supported in his quest
to halt incineration of radioactive waste in Osaka and elsewhere in
Japan as this will add to the misery, sickness and deaths that will be
the Fukushima legacy.

Helen Caldicott

ヘレン・カルディコット博士からの声明文

下地教授は、学生や次世代の人々を気遣う、勇敢で道徳心のある人物です。大阪あるいは日本のその他の地域において、苦しみ、病、死といった福島の遺産を増やすことからも、下地教授の追求する放射能汚染瓦礫焼却停止を、私達がサポートすることは必須です。

ヘレン・カルディコット

We are collecting individual and group statements from all over the world in support of freeing Professor Shimoji. Please send them with your name, name of your organization if any, and your address to frcsrus@gmail.com.

Third Letter from Jailed Professor Masaki Shimoji

2012-12-22T20:22:00.001-06:00

For the previous letters from Professor Masaki Shimoji who has been jailed since December 9th for opposing the debris incineration in Osaka, please refer to the following links:
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/unjust-arrest-of-professor-opposing.html
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-second-letter-from-jailed-professor.html

＊＊＊

Please sign this petition to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Associate Professor Masaki Shimoji.

http://keepcivicactivity.jimdo.com/english/

＊＊＊

December 18th Letter

Thank you so very much, everyone.
It is a lot more comfortable in jail than I imagined.
There are three of us in the same room. We are getting along fine. Please don’t worry.

I get up exactly at 7 am. We put away our futons, do some cleaning, and wash our faces.
We have breakfast at 8 am. Afterwards we take turns “exercising,” several of us at a time. All we do when we “exercise” is that we go to an area, sort of like a veranda, that is three to four times as big as our room. It’s surrounded by walls and frosted glass, and we can’t see outside.

There we can shave ourselves and smoke cigarettes. I don’t smoke cigarettes, but many people look forward to it. It also provides few opportunities we have to interact with other people, so it’s a fresh change of air. We take turns “exercising” which ends about 10 am.

After exercising, we can use books, notebooks and pens, basically until the evening.
We can have up to three books in the room, but they can always be exchanged with new ones. I do writing and reading, sometimes doing a little stretching. Lunch is at noon and dinner is at 5 pm. All this takes place in the room.

However, I have to go through occasional interrogation, which is quite annoying. I must face the interrogation alone. Honestly it is quite a bit of pressure, but it becomes nothing when I think about all the support directed to me from outside. Nothing to be afraid of. I would rather read a book instead of being interrogated. Boring.

Around 6:45 pm, rooms are inspected and we get our futons ready. We turn in our writing supplies and books. After we lay our futons down, we can choose one book for the night, which must be turned in before the lights-out at 9 pm. I actually sleep quite deeply during the night. No problem there. But it gets to be too long, so I get up pretty early in the morning.

I would rather not be in jail, but there are many discoveries here. Yakuza and police are all humans. My experience here is definitely something I would not be able to have outside the jail. I am taking a “so-what” attitude and seeing it as a “fieldwork.” It’s actually pretty interesting.

I received four letters from various people. Thank you to each of the letter senders. The letters cheer me up. I was forcibly cut off from many people, but it’s strange that now I am connecting with even more people, and the connection is stronger than before.

I met with a public prosecutor this morning. I severely complained and protested lies by the police. The prosecutor made excuses for each complaint. For instance, the prosecutor told me, “Why don’t you talk instead of remaining silent?” I said, “What makes you think that what I say will be treated fairly by the police which requested an arrest warrant based on such obvious lies? They can make up evidences and testimony later. There is a possibility they will arbitrarily exercise their powers of authority. That’s why it is important to remain silent.” I then asked back, “Does the prosecutor have a view that police are fundamentally good?” We had other exchanges. I will have to see what will happen from now on.

I am heading to the court hearing for indication of the reasons for detention now. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there.

I don’t know what will happen from now on, but I am doing very well. You don’t have to worry about me. Please keep up the fight outside. Keep up with opposition of the disaster debris incineration. I will write about the disaster debris issues in the future.

Masaki Shimoji
2012.12.18

**********************************************************************************

＜For the court hearing for indication of the reasons for detention＞

Written on 2012.12.15 for 2012.12.18.

Thank you to everyone who showed up. I really appreciate it.
There is something that I learned in jail. They are afraid of us. It’s true. They are truly afraid of us. Everything they do is because they are afraid of us--increasing oppression, desperate indictment of one protester after another, and their frantic attempts to suppress and split us.

Let’s make today--the day of court hearing for indication of the reasons for detention--the day of our complete victory. No word needs to be uttered and no one needs to be removed from court. Silence rules. Please glare at the presiding judge with all your might. He is, and they are, afraid of us. (I won’t get angry if someone raises their voices, however. I might even do that myself).

I am preparing a statement I intend to read during the ten-minute period given to me. I will put all I have into it. I will put everything in there for my fellow protesters who have been unjustly arrested and indicted.

We will definitely prevail. Actually, we have already prevailed. Those who lie can only live in lies, and thus they are already living in hell. In actuality, we have already won by living our lives faithfully and conscientiously according to what we believe is right. It is themselves that will determine their own fate. They will have to decide. At the same time, we will tirelessly and solemnly continue the fight to change the reality.

Masaki Shimoji

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/garekitaiho1113/e/b6d0647c4f6a664ffbef2bd1cf3e36b3

本当に、本当にみなさん、ありがとうございます。
留置所の中は、想像していたより、かなり快適に過ごしています。
同じ部屋には僕を含めて3人、うまくやっています。心配ありません。

朝は7時ちょうどに起床。布団を片づけ、掃除。それから洗顔。
8時ごろから朝ごはん。終わると、数人ずつ交代で｢運動」。｢運動」と言っても部屋より３・４倍広いくらいのベランダのようなところに行くだけです。まわりは壁とすりガラスで、外の様子は見えません。

そこでは、ヒゲそりができて、タバコが吸えます。僕は吸いませんが、これをたのしみにしている人は多いです。また他の部屋の人と話ができる数少ない機会なので、気分転換になります。交代で｢運動」に出て、だいたい10時頃に終わります。

運動のあとは、基本的に夜まで、本とノートとペンが使用できます。
本は部屋の中では3冊まで、いつでも交換できます。ストレッチなどしながら、書き物と読書。昼食が12時、夕食が17時。ずっと部屋の中です。

ただし、時々、取り調べがあり、これがかなり面倒くさいです。取り調べには一人で立ち向かわねばなりません。正直、かなりの重圧ではありますが、しかし、外の支援が支えてくれている、と思うとき、なんともなくなります。恐るるに足りず、です。こんなことしてるくらいなら本を読みたい。退屈。

18時45分くらいから、部屋の検査と布団の準備。このとき、筆記具と本は一旦返します。布団の用意をして、その後は、夜用の本、一冊だけ選べます。消灯前に返却。そして21時消灯。夜は割りとグッスリ眠れます。問題なし。でも、長すぎて朝はわりと早く起きます。

留置所の中にいたいとは思いませんが、ここで気づかされることは多いです。ヤクザも警察官も人間です。外では絶対できない経験をしています。フィールドワークのようなつもりで、開き直ってやっています。こう言ってはなんだけど、おもしろいです。

今日、いろんな方から4通の手紙をもらいました。それぞれありがとうございます。励まされています。たくさんの人たちからムリヤリ切り離されたおかげで、以前よりたくさんの人ともっと強くつながったこと、なんだか不思議に思います。

今日、午前中、検事調べありました。警察のデタラメについて厳重に抗議しました。検事はいちいち言い訳してて、たとえば｢黙秘せずに話してくれれば」と言いました。私は、「これほどまでにハッキリとウソを書いて逮捕状を請求する警察に、話したことがちゃんとまともに扱われると思えるわけがないでしょう。証拠も証言も後から作れます。警察が恣意的に職権行使をすることがありうる、だから黙秘権が大切なのです」。
「検事は警察性善説に立っているのですか」と問い返しました。他にもいろいろやり取り。果たして今後どうなるか、見物です。

これから勾留理由開示裁判に行きます。久しぶりにみんなに会えるので楽しみです。

　これからどうなるかわからんけど、僕はとても元気です。全然心配いりません。外の闘いを頼みます。ガレキのことも頑張って。ガレキ問題についての文章も追って書こうと思います。

下地　真樹　　2012.12.18

＜勾留理由開示裁判にむけて＞

2012.12.18のために、2012.12.15記す

今日きてくれた皆さん、ありがとう。本当にありがとう。
中に入ってわかったことがある。彼らは僕らのことを恐れている。本当だ。彼らは本当に僕たちのことを恐れている。どんどん激しくなる弾圧も、やけくそのような起訴も、必死になって僕らを抑圧し、分断しようとするのも、すべて彼らが僕らを恐れているからだ。

今日の勾留理由開示裁判は、完全勝利の日にしよう。一言も発することなく、誰一人退廷させられることなく、無言でいい。全力で裁判長をにらみつけてやってください。彼は、彼らは、僕らのことを恐れていますから。（でも騒いだ人がいても、僕は怒りません（笑）。人のこと言えませんし）

僕は、与えられた10分間に読む文章を準備しています。そこにすべてを叩きつけます。
他にも不当に逮捕・起訴されている仲間の分も、すべてを叩きつけます。

僕らは必ず勝利します。と言うより、すでに勝利しています。ウソをつく者は、ウソの中に生きるしかない、という意味で、すでに地獄に生きるしかないからです。僕らは自らが正しいと信じることに忠実に誠実に生きることにおいて、すでに勝利しているからです。彼ら自身の運命を決めるのは彼らです。それは彼らに決めてもらいましょう。同時に僕らは飽くことなく、現実を変えるための闘いを粛々と続けましょう。

下地　真樹　

A Second Letter from Jailed Professor Masaki Shimoji

2012-12-17T16:47:00.001-06:00

For the first letter from Professor Masaki Shimoji who has been jailed since December 9th for opposing the debris incineration in Osaka, please refer to the following link:
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/12/unjust-arrest-of-professor-opposing.html

Please sign this petition to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Associate Professor Masaki Shimoji.
http://keepcivicactivity.jimdo.com/english/

December 14th letter

Thank you so very, very much. I am actually more comfortable than I imagined I would be in jail.

We have to adhere to a schedule, but I don’t particularly have any problems with it since I normally get up about the same time every morning. I mostly do writing in my room, so surprisingly I spend little time reading. I would like to thank the person from Osaka-city who gave me a book to read. (But I might not like reading a book by Haruki Murakami that much).

Interrogation takes place on a daily basis. This is a moment to face the authority of the nation, so it makes me nervous. I can’t fight them alone. However, I am told many people are supporting me, which helps me fight. I really appreciate all your support.

I think the food served here probably has some radiation contamination, but I have resigned to eat it. If it looks like it might be quite contaminated, I leave it out. That’s how it has been. I don’t care about not being able to have snacks.

What I feel the most strongest about is the cruelty of someone having to engage in unjust work of participating in an unjust arrest and unjust detainment. I would like the world to be a place for young police officers to be freed from such unjust work and concentrate on decent work. That’s how I feel.

I am sorry I can’t help you with the disaster debris issue at this critical stage. I have a firm belief in all of you.

December 14, 2012
Masaki Shimoji
In jail

Original letter from the following link:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/garekitaiho1113/e/8f642133a1651cf0188345b7229d4a29

Statement from Dr. Helen Caldicott in support of Professor Shimoji

Professor Shimoji is a brave and moral man who is worried about his students and future generations. It is imperative that he be supported in his quest to halt incineration of radioactive waste in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan as this will add to the misery, sickness and deaths that will be the Fukushima legacy.

Helen Caldicott

ヘレン・カルディコット博士からの声明文

下地教授は、学生や次世代の人々を気遣う、勇敢で道徳心のある人物です。大阪あるいは日本のその他の地域において、苦しみ、病、死といった福島の遺産を増やすことからも、下地教授の追求する放射能汚染瓦礫焼却停止を、私達がサポートすることは必須です。

ヘレン・カルディコット

We are collecting individual and group statements from all over the world in support of freeing Professor Shimoji. Please send them with your name, name of your organization if any, and your address to frcsrus@gmail.com.

Unjust Arrest of a Professor Opposing Debris Incineration in Osaka

2012-12-14T11:14:00.000-06:00

This is a letter from Masaki Shimoji, a university associate professor who has been unfairly detained since his sudden arrest on December 9, 2012. The arrest occurred because he walked through the Japan Railways Osaka station on October 17, 2012.

Please sign this petition to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Associate Professor Masaki Shimoji.
http://keepcivicactivity.jimdo.com/english/

Statement from Dr. Helen Caldicott in support of Professor Shimoji

Professor Shimoji is a brave and moral man who is worried about his students and future generations. It is imperative that he be supported in his quest to halt incineration of radioactive waste in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan as this will add to the misery, sickness and deaths that will be the Fukushima legacy.

Helen Caldicott

ヘレン・カルディコット博士からの声明文

下地教授は、学生や次世代の人々を気遣う、勇敢で道徳心のある人物です。大阪あるいは日本のその他の地域において、苦しみ、病、死といった福島の遺産を増やすことからも、下地教授の追求する放射能汚染瓦礫焼却停止を、私達がサポートすることは必須です。

ヘレン・カルディコット

Background:

http://keepcivicactivity.jimdo.com/

On December 9, 2012, Masaki Shimoji, an associate professor of economics at Hannan University was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police. This arrest is extremely unjust in form and content. It is clearly a crackdown on citizens’ movement.

Professor Shimoji and others are opposing the “areawide management of the disaster debris” measure, which intended to spread, incinerate and bury harmful substances in the disaster debris all over Japan that should not be incinerated, such as radioactive material and asbestos. Osaka-city is trying to begin regular incineration and burial beginning in February 2013.

The following is the timeline for the arrest:

At 3 pm on October 17, 2012, voluntary citizens opposing to test incineration of disaster debris in Osaka-city, including associate professor Shimoji, gathered on the sidewalk outside the northeast corner of Osaka station. They began to walk towards Osaka city hall, walking through the east concourse inside Osaka station from north to south. This act was considered a “violation of Railway Operation Act,” “forcible obstruction of business, “ and ”non-withdrawal,” and used as charges for the arrest.

However, this act of “walking through the station” was conducted nearly two months ago, and it is extremely unnatural for them to arrest him for it now. We can’t help but consider it as an intentional crackdown on citizens’ movement.

Voluntary citizens including associate professor Shimoji, in consideration of the anxious feelings of mothers with small children, especially those who evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture and Tohoku and Kanto regions to Kansai area, have been actively trying to stop the spread of radioactive contamination. Fukushima nuclear accident negatively affected the health and wealth of an enormous number of people. It is the responsibility of the government, the electric companies and the nuclear industry that should be in question for having forced the operation of nuclear power plants without appropriate safety measures.

December 10, 2012
Civic Activity--an organization supporting citizens opposing spread of radiation

*****

Letter from Professor Shimoji:

None of the alleged facts of crime in the arrest warrant is true. I am extremely surprised that the public safety police officers openly arrested me for the alleged facts which differ from the actual facts, despite having been present in the location of the alleged crime and witnessed everything that went on.

Why did the police arrest me going so far as lying in the arrest warrant? The reason is because I opposed the restart of nuclear power plants and have participated in a citizens’ movement opposing the spread of radiation. In particular, I have severely criticized the wrongful conduct by the police which I encountered during my activities. I have done nothing wrong.

Currently, Japan where we live as well as the entire world are in a critical situation. Fukushima nuclear accident is not over, and if the spent-fuel pool in reactor 4 collapses, it is not too much to say that it could lead to a massive disaster which could end not only Japan but the rest of the world. Radioactive contamination has not been properly dealt with at all, and the contamination is being spread through the circulation of food and other goods. In the midst of this situation, the government lies about “insufficient electricity” to try to continue using nuclear power plants. This is nothing but insanity.

What sort of measures the government will take in the next six months to one year will change our future to a great extent. Every day I look at my students and wonder what sort of world they will live in when these 20-year-olds turn forty like me. Each time I think about it, I feel sorry, as the older generation, about not being able to prevent this nuclear accident. They are not guilty of any wrongdoing. I would like to do the little I can do in order to leave the world in a better shape than this. Since the accident already happened, there is not much time left for us. However, there is still hope.

I am not able to move around at this time. However, I haven’t given up. I can send my voice out like this. And if many more of you take an action and raise your voices, we will certainly make it in time.

I would especially like to call to individuals who teach at a university like me and also those called specialists such as physicians and scientists. Please learn particularly from citizens who might appear to “be ignorant and lack calmness.” Please speak out for those whose voices are being ignored and taken lightly.

Truth only appears through criticisms and responses. It’s not what is talked about by authorities such as the government. Go to the opposite side, and act so that the truth is revealed by posing questions against the authorities. It is okay even if you are wrong. Always be on the side of the weak and protect their words and existence which are always taken lightly. Even if you might be wrong, speak paradoxically so that the truth would be revealed through an exchange of statements with the authority. It doesn’t matter what your specialty field is. Please be brave.

Lastly, I would like to speak about the issue of disaster debris with which I have been most deeply involved. The city of Osaka forced the test incineration in the end of November and is getting ready for the start of regular incineration in February 2013. As I have repeatedly stated everywhere, the areawide management of disaster debris will not be good for anybody. It is not even supporting the disaster-affected area: it steals from the recovery budget and interferes with the recovery process. At the same time, it will spread radiation all over the place, forcing the residents of contaminated areas to resign themselves to tolerate radiation despite opposition and mitigating responsibility of the Tokyo Electric Power Company as the perpetrator. The price to be paid for this is our lives, and lives of the children and the children yet to be born. Such nonsense measures should not be tolerated. We absolutely must stop them. Those of you who have been learning about this and causing actions together, please do not give up. Keep fighting. Also, those of you who didn’t know about the issue of disaster debris, please learn about it now so that you can lend us your power. This is a fight to protect nothing other than our own future itself.

I don’t know when I will be released from confinement, but I will be released someday. Even though I am not physically there, my thoughts are with you. My colleagues who have been unjustly arrested must be feeling the same way during their confinement. I am looking forward to seeing you soon.

December 12, 2012
Masaki Shimoji

*****
We are collecting individual and group statements from all over the world in support of freeing Professor Shimoji. Please send them with your name, name of your organization if any, and your address to frcsrus@gmail.com

*****
Japanese version of the letter can be found in the following link:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/garekitaiho1113/e/79c68fd4e86da4ec02b2e01a5188052b

逮捕状の被疑事実は、すべて、事実ではありません。当日現場にいた公安の警察官もすべてを見ていたはずなのに、堂々と事実と異なる被疑事実に基づいて逮捕を行ったことに、とても驚いています。
　なぜ警察がウソをついてまで私を逮捕するのか。それは私が、原発の再稼働に反対し、放射能の拡散に反対する市民運動に参加してきたからであり、とりわけ、運動の中で出会った警察の不正行為についても厳しく批判してきたからです。悪いことはなにもしていません。

　いま、私たちが暮らす日本は、そして世界は、危機的な状況にあります。福島の原発事故はいまだ収束せず、4号機の使用済み核燃料プールが倒壊すれば、日本だけでなく、世界が終わると言っても過言ではない大惨禍をもたらすことになるでしょう。放射能汚染への対応もまったくできておらず、食品その他の流通を通じて、汚染は拡大しつつあります。そんな中、「電気が足りない」とうそぶき、原発を使い続けようとしているのです。すべてが狂っているとしか言いようがありません。

　この半年か1年の間に、政府がどのような施策を行うか、それによって私たちの未来は大きく変わるでしょう。日々、学生たちの顔を見ながら思います。二十歳そこそこの彼らが私と同じ四十歳になる頃、どんな世界に暮らすことになるのかと。そのたびに、今回の原発事故を防げなかったこと、先輩世代として申し訳なく思います。彼らには罪はないのですから。せめて、少しでもマシな世界を残せるよう、微力を尽くしたいと思っています。事故はすでに起きてしまいましたから、時間はあまり残されていません。しかし、希望はあります。

　私は、いま、動くことができなくなりました。でも、諦めてはいません。こうして、私の声を外に届けることもできます。そして、もっと多くのみなさんが行動してくれれば、声をあげてくれれば、きっとまだ間に合います。
　私はとりわけ、私と同じように大学で教えている人、医師や科学者などなんらかの意味で専門家と呼ばれている人たちに呼びかけたいと思います。「無知で冷静さを欠いている」かのように見える市民にこそ学んで下さい。その声が無視され、軽んじられている人のために語って下さい。

　真実は、批判と応答を通じて初めて、姿を現します。政府をはじめとする権威が語ることではなく、その反対側に立ち、権威に対して反問することを通じて真実が明らかになるように行動して下さい。まちがってもいいのです。常に弱い側に立ち、その軽んじられる言葉や存在を擁護し、自らが仮にまちがうとしても、逆説的に、権威との言説の応酬の中で真実が明らかになるように、語って下さい。あなたの専門分野が何であるかは、関係がありません。勇気をもって下さい。

　最後に、私がもっとも深く関わってきた震災がれきの問題について述べます。大阪市は11月末に試験焼却を強行し、来年2月の本焼却開始に向けて着々と準備を進めています。
何度もあちこちで述べてきましたように、震災がれきの広域処理は誰のためにもなりません。それは被災地支援どころか復興予算の横取りであり、かえって復興の足を引っぱります。同時に、放射能をばらまき、かつ、汚染地の人々に放射能を受忍させ、加害者である東京電力の責任を軽減するものです。代償は、私たちの、子どもたちの、そして、これから生まれてくる子どもたちの命です。こんなデタラメな施策が許されていいはずがありません。絶対に止めなければなりません。これまでともに学び、取り組んできたみなさん、諦めずに戦ってください。また、これまで震災がれき問題について知らなかったみなさん、是非、今からでも知って力を貸して下さい。これは、私たちの未来そのものを守るための戦いです。

　私はいつ出られるかわかりません。でも、いつかきっと出られます。姿は見えなくても、心はともにあります。この間、不当に逮捕されている他の仲間たちもきっと同じ気持ちです。みなさんに会える日をたのしみにしています。

２０１２．１２．１２　下地真樹

Fukushima Thyroid Examination Part 3

2012-12-05T04:32:00.002-06:00

The Ninth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey was released on November 18, 2012.

The thyroid examination section of the survey is shown in this link.
http://www.pref.fukushima.jp/imu/kenkoukanri/241118koujyousen.pdf

It contains new thyroid examination results from August 25, 2012 through September 28, 2012, added to the previous results from the first five months of Fiscal Year Heisei 24 (FYH24), from April 1 through August 24, 2012. Up to November 1, 2012, 76,357 of eligible 89,662 children underwent the examination in FYH24.

The results up to September 28, 2012 revealed that 24,682 (42.7%) of 57,840 children had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities. Together with 38,114 children (13,645 or 35.8% had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities) tested in the last half of Fiscal Year Heisei 23 (FYH23) from October 2011 through March 2012, a total of 38,327 (39.9%) of 95,954 Fukushima children have been found to have ultrasound abnormalities.

Most significantly, there was a child, a female in the 16 to 18 age group, with a C assessment in the new results, requiring an immediate secondary examination. This was the first time there was a C assessment.

Even though the percentage of abnormalities from FYH24 at 42.7% was slightly less than the previous report at 43.1%, the overall abnormalities remain essentially the same at 40%. Moreover, there are higher proportions of nodules over 10.1 mm than the increase in the total number of children examined. As before, a higher proportion of abnormalities was seen in female children in all age groups in the A2 assessment and in age groups older than 6 in the B assessment.

******

Consideration was given to increase the number of children who could be examined by offering the examination for grade school and junior high school students at schools where the children attend . In addition, public venues with good traffic access were chosen as the examination sites.

As there are over 155,000 children eligible to undergo the examination in FYH24, efforts were made to structure a more effective and efficient examination system so that the examination implementation period may be shortened:
   ● Try to obtain a facility where 700 to 800 may be examined per day.
   ● In actually implementing the examination, manage the sensitivity of the equipment in order to achieve an examination with high standards. Attempt to examine 700 to 800 children by structuring a more effective reception and guidance.

Moreover, as of November 1, 2012, the thyroid examination began at facilities outside Fukushima Prefecture for those children who have evacuated Fukushima.

*****

FYH24 (FY2012) implementation schedule includes the following municipalities:

September to early October 2012: 18,061 children from Nihonmatsu, Motomiya and Otama.
Early to mid October 2012: 4,757 children from Koori, Ten-ei, and Kunimi.
Mid October to late November 2012: 14,655 children from Shirakawa, Nishigo and Izumizaki.Early October 2012 to late March 2013： 64,478 children from Koriyama.
Mid January 2013 to late March 2012: 3,139 children from Miharu-machi, the only municipality whose residents were administered stable iodine prophylaxis.

*****
Note:
H23 refers to Heisei Year 23, which is the same as 2011.
FYH23 refers to Fiscal Year Heisei 23 which runs from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012.
H24 refers to Heisei Year 24, which is the same as 2012.
FYH24 refers to Fiscal Year Heisei 24 which runs from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012.

*****
For a complete English translation of the thyroid examination section of the Sixth and Seventh Reports of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, please refer to these links.
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/07/thyroid-examination-by-fukushima.html
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B68f83tqq7QuZUdCZXhTLVl2dEE/edit?pli=1

For an excerpted English translation of the thyroid examination section of the Eighth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, please refer to this link.
http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/09/fukushima-thyroid-examination-part-2.html

*****

The Ninth Report of Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey (excerpt)
November 18, 2012

Summary of Thyroid Examination Results ①

[Explanation of assessment classifications]
・A1 and A2 will be observed until the next round of examinations (after FYH26 or FY2014).
・B and C will undergo secondary examination. (Notice of the date and place of the secondary examination will be sent to them).
※A2 will be treated as B if the thyroid gland condition warrants the need for a secondary examination.
※Examination results for FYH24 (FY2012) include completed results up to September 28, 2012.
※Some cases have both nodules and cysts.

*********
Summary of Thyroid Examination Results ②

1. Distribution by age and gender for each assessment classification category.
(For each category the left column shows the number of boys, the middle column shows the number of girls, and the right column shows the total, based on age groups in five-year intervals.)
The upper table is for FYH23 (FY2011). The lower table is for FYH24 (FY2012), which shows the completed results up to September 28, 2012.

2. Proportion of each assessment classification category by age.
In the tables of horizontal bar graphs, the left table is for boys and the right for girls. For each age group, in five-year intervals, the top bar shows FYH23 (FY2011) and the bottom bar FYH24 (FY2012).

*********
Details of Thyroid Examination Results (FYH24 Exam: Cysts)

①　Size breakdown of cysts found at thyroid examination conducted in FYH24 (FY2012)

※1 Assessment classification based on the size of the cysts alone.
※2 The reason the size group “～3.0 mm” is put together with “No cysts present” in the proportion is because in ordinary medical examination cysts smaller than 3.0 mm are treated as no cysts.

② Size distribution of cysts

Total Results

●Of 57,840 who were examined in FYH24 (FY2012), 33,460 or 57.8%(64.9% in FYH23) had no cysts.
In addition, cysts equal to or smaller than 3.0 mm are considered not to be cysts in ordinary medical examinations, and 13,995 had cysts equal to or smaller than 3.0 mm.
These two groups comprised 47,455 or 82.0% (83.3% in FYH23) of the total examined.

● Difference by gender was barely seen up to 3.0 mm and over 10.1 mm, but the incidence in girls tended to be higher in sizes between 3.1 mm and 10.0 mm.
   Difference by age groups showed cysts up to 3.0 mm were seen most frequently in the age 6-10 group, with incidence gradually decreasing with increasing age.

*********
Details of Thyroid Examination Results (FYH24 Exam: Nodules)

①　Size breakdown of nodules found at thyroid examination conducted in FYH24 (FY2012)

② Size distribution of nodules

Total Results

●Of 57,840 who were examined in FYH24 (FY 2012), 538 or 0.9% (1.0% in FYH23) had nodules.

●Of 538 who had nodules, 307, or 0.5% of the total examined, had nodules large enough to require secondary examination.
In addition, 198 of the 307 mentioned above had nodules which were 5.1 mm to 10.0 mm in size, comprising 64.5% (68.5 in FYH23) of the 307 requiring secondary examination.

●109 had nodules which were larger than 10.0 mm, and its proportion was even lower at 0.19% of the total examined.

●Difference by gender showed a tendency for more girls in both nodules up to 5.0 mm and larger than 5.1 mm.

*********

Implementation Status of FYH24 (FY2012) Secondary Thyroid Examination

■Summary of Secondary Thyroid Examination (All-prefecture Preliminary Examination)

1. Examination implementation policy
　● If lumps (nodular lesions) are found during the primary thyroid examination, then a secondary examination (detailed ultrasound examination, blood test, urine test, biopsy if needed) will be conducted at Fukushima Medical University Hospital.
　● A2 will be treated as B and secondary examination implemented if the thyroid gland condition warrants the need for secondary examination.
　● Those qualifying for secondary examination will be notified of the time and place of the secondary examination at a later date by the Fukushima Medical University Radiation Medicine Prefecture Health Management Survey Center.
   ● Notification for the secondary examination is provided in the order the primary examination was done, but a priority is given for the implementation of the secondary examination to those who are considered to require an early examination.
   ● Results of the secondary examination will be directly explained to those examined.
   ● Locations will be established outside Fukushima Medical University for the secondary examination by the end of this fiscal year.

■ Schedule Plan of Secondary Thyroid Examination (All-prefecture Preliminary Examination)

FYH23 examination: 186 qualified.
                                 Conducted from March 2012 to the end of November 2012.
                                 102 already had more than one examination.
FYH24 examination: 315 qualified.
                                 Currently being conducted.
                                 Includes those who completed the primary examination by September
                                    28, 2012. (Priorities are given as needed).
                                  Fukushima-city residents will have the secondary examination
                                    implemented before March 2013.

■　Implementation status of secondary thyroid examination (All-prefecture preliminary examination). (As of November 5, 2012)

※1 Those who will be re-checked at the standard examination after April 2014 due to the absence of abnormalities.
※2 Those who have moved onto regular medical care schedule, to be re-checked mostly 6 months to one year later.

Are 36% Thyroid Cysts in Tokyo Children a Good Comparison to Fukushima Thyroid Findings?

2012-12-03T10:02:00.001-06:00

On December 1, 2012, the following article was published in Asahi Shimbun. (Complete translation to follow after this article).

The headline states that 36% of children in Tokyo was found to have thyroid cysts. Data mentioned is from 2,753 children who had thyroid ultrasound examinations done at a Tokyo thyroid clinic, Ito Hospital, from 2003 to August 2012. The article concludes that this data, inclusive of data prior to the Fukushima nuclear accident, must mean thyroid ultrasound abnormalities in Fukushima children represent a normal incidence of such abnormalities.

However, it is not clear how many of the 2,753 children were actually tested in the eight-year period from 2003 up to March 11, 2011, as opposed to the seventeen-month period from the accident up to August 2012. As thyroid ultrasound examinations are rarely conducted in children under normal, non-radioactive circumstances, due to the rarity of thyroid disease in children, it is difficult to think the 2,753 can be evenly distributed from year to year as in 300 per year. According to this article, Ito Hospital did not seem to specifically provide pre-accident findings. Moreover, Ito Hospital is a facility authorized by the Japan Thyroid Association whose president, the infamous Shunichi Yamashita of Fukushima Medical University, sent the following letter to its members in January 2012.

http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2012/05/fukushima-childrens-thyroid-examination.html

Due to the lack of more detailed information such as the number of children examined in each year showing the change from year to year as well as the number of children actually examined up to March 2011, we can only speculate what the 36% might entail.

The newspaper article mentions that 189 children had multiple ultrasound examinations. It seems likely that these 189 might belong to the pre-accident group, as anecdotal stories tell us most who got the ultrasound examination after the accident were told to follow up in one year.

It is beyond our comprehension why this hospital would not provide more accurate data for comparison. If they did provide it, why wouldn’t the newspaper cover it more accurately? Does the data provide conclusive evidence of the impact of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear accident?

　　　＊＊＊

Complete translation of the newspaper article:

In relation to the many findings of cysts (fluid-filled sac) in thyroid examination of children in Fukushima Prefecture, a similar ratio of about 3,000 children was found to have cysts at a Tokyo hospital. Dr. Kenji Iwaku at Ito Hospital in Tokyo reported it at the Japan Thyroid Association meeting on November 30.

Specialists say that “This data includes pre-accident data for comparison. It is not likely that cysts found in Fukushima children are due to radiation exposure.”

According to the report, the data was the compilation of thyroid ultrasound results in 2,753 children under age 15 conducted at Ito Hospital from 2003 up to August 2012. The result showed that 36% of the children had thyroid cysts.

189 children had multiple ultrasound examinations: 42% saw an improvement with cysts getting smaller or resolving; 14% had cysts that became larger; and the remaining 44% saw no changes. No children developed malignant disease such as cancer during the follow-up.

Because there was an increase in pediatric thyroid cancer after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in former USSR, Fukushima Prefecture has been conducting thyroid ultrasound examination in children under age 18. Cysts were found in 35% of children tested last fiscal year and 42% this fiscal year so far.

The lack of comparative data in children in other areas has raised the voice that the cysts might be due to the effect of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident.

Shigenobu Nagataki, Nagasaki University emeritus professor in thyroid disease, said, “The data reported is from the study conducted using similar ultrasound equipments to what was used in Fukushima Prefecture. It also includes data from pre-accident years. Cysts in Fukushima children cannot be due to radiation.”

As the comparison to the Fukushima examination, the government plans on conducting thyroid ultrasound examinations outside Fukushima Prefecture, such as in Nagasaki Prefecture, for about 4,500 children.

Fukushima Prefecture’s New Cancer Center: “Recovery” Vision by Fukushima Medical University

2012-12-03T09:42:00.001-06:00

As early as September 2011, merely six months after the Fukushima accident, Fukushima Medical University had already decided to build a new, state-of-the-art cancer center with extensive affiliation with pharmaceutical and other medical industry.

Source: article in Fukushima Mimpo on September 20, 2011
http://www.minpo.jp/pub/topics/jishin2011/2011/09/post_1965.html

Fukushima Medical University revealed a summary of their “recovery vision” towards the regionalization of radiation medical care on September 20, 2011. It will build a new 330-bed Radiation Medicine Prefecture Resident Health Management Center within 5 years. The center will have specialists within the nation as medical and research staff in order to raise the standard of cancer care in Fukushima Prefecture to the highest level in the nation. They will also establish medical seminars, specifically for medical care for radiation exposure, to educate medical care providers. They anticipate an expense of 10 billion yen (about $130 million) and are asking the government to incorporate it into the tertiary supplementary budget proposal together with the prefecture.

The plan is to use available areas such as parking lots within the medical university for new buildings. Radiation Medicine Prefecture Resident Health Management Center will be the focal point of providing early medical care for cancer. Departments of thyroid surgery, hematology, radiology and dermatology will be moved from the medical university hospital to the new center so that the specialists will be onsite, in order to aim towards sophistication of medical care. Since the effect of radiation on infants, small children and pregnant women will be a special concern, the center will also have pediatric and obstetrics departments.

The center will be a nine-story building made of steel and concrete with a total area of 29,000 m2. It will be slightly smaller than the current medical university hospital.

The center will additionally have two molecular imaging facilities for early detection of illnesses. It will include latest equipments such as PET scan and Cyclotron used for diagnosis of cancer, super-high resolution CT scan, and whole body counter for measurement of internal radiation exposure.

It will also have a center for drug development and clinical trial to advance the development of pharmaceutical agents for cancer treatment. There will be a research and laboratory facility which will analyze the results of Health Management Survey, which is geared towards the entire prefectural residents, and also develop new cancer treatments.

Medical seminars will be specific for medical care for radiation exposure, and its attendance capacity is being determined. The medical school will request that the government increase the number of students allowed at the school for the new medical seminars. It will also consider increasing the number of physicians sent to public hospitals in order to raise the standard of medical care within the prefecture.

It also plans on congregating medical industry related to radiation. It will establish a Fukushima Center for Promotion of Medical Industry as a research facility for industry-academic cooperation. This center will cooperate with local and international corporations to promote a development of equipments used for examination, diagnosis and treatment in radiation medicine. They hope to attract companies which will be research partners, leading to activation of regional industry as well as job creation.

A big challenge will be to secure personnel in order to realize the plan. At least several tens of physicians and professors will be needed for the new facilities and seminars. It has already been agreed that they will come from both Hiroshima and Nagasaki Universities which they have a cooperation agreement with in regards to radiation medicine. In the future they will work with related institutions within the country to secure medical and research staff.

The plan combined the government’s basic recovery policy for Fukushima Prefecture which incorporates establishment of a center for radiation medicine and the recovery vision of the prefecture.

Vice president Yokoyama of Fukushima Medical University who is in charge of the recovery business at Fukushima Medical University says, “We would like to secure safety and a sense of relief for the prefectural residents by arranging for the latest treatment and diagnosis in our prefecture that had the nuclear power plant accident. Our goal is ‘a region where you can live the healthiest in the entire Japan’.”

The prefecture thinks the plan matches the government’s basic recovery policy, and they are sure there is a high possibility that the expense will be approved in the government’s tertiary supplementary budget.

Letter from Oguni Elementary School It's Okay: Hotspot Down from 179 μSv/h to 3.9 μSv/h

2012-09-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

There is a letter sent home on September 18, 2012, from Oguni Elementary School in Date-city, Fukushima, in order to notify parents/guardians of the radiation contamination situation at school. It can be found in the links below.

http://p.twipple.jp/jhQNo
http://p.twpl.jp/show/orig/jhQNo
http://goyonokatawa.blogspot.com/2012/09/blog-post.html?spref=tw

Date-city is located about 50 km northwest of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: it sits east of Fukushima-city and known to have high radiation levels. Oguni Elementary School is indicated as “A” in the map below.

Information about Date-city can be found here:

http://www.city.date.fukushima.jp/english/index.html

Complete translation of the letter is as below.

In regards to the radiation contamination situation surrounding the school

It has been nearly a month since the second trimester began. Despite the persistent late summer heat, children are back into the regular daily routine, spending a calm school life.
I would like to report to you the latest radiation situation surrounding the school.

1. Regarding the ambient radiation level survey by the Date City Citizen Affairs Department Radiation Response Section

“Ambient radiation level monitoring survey of the area ‘A’ elementary and junior high schools” was conducted on Tuesday, August 21, 2012. I have asked the person in charge to send the survey results to us through the Board of Education, but we have not received it yet. When we checked with the person in charge today, I was told, “We will organize the data and deliver it to school.” We will let you know as soon as we receive it.

http://www.city.date.fukushima.jp/groups/hosyasen/8keka-school.pdf

2. Regarding the confirmation of hot spots around the school and the response
(1) Survey and response by CRMS (Citizen’s Radioactivity Measuring Station)
  From 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Sunday, July 8, 2012, members of “Association for Recovering Clean Oguni from Radiation” as well as PTA conducted a radiation level survey around the school.
  The survey result confirmed the effectiveness of decontamination of the schoolyard. However, multiple hot spots were identified: from the school bus stop to the main gate; edges as well as south and east sides of the schoolyard; around the swimming pool; and behind the gymnasium.
  In regards to these hot spots, they stuck bamboo sticks with red vinyl tape wrapped around them there in order to secure safety of the areas. we called the students' attention not to go near the area.

(2) Investigation and response by the Board of Education, Department of Education, School Educational Facilities Section
  On Wednesday, September 12, 2012, the School Educational Facilities Section investigated a hot spot located at a drain a ditch outside the school property near the sundial on the east side of the school building. (This area is covered by weeds and usually the students stay away from it).
  The next day, several workers came to school to remove soil from the drain and sand from the gutter and cover the area with sand stored in the corner of the schoolyard. The ambient radiation level went from 179 μSv/h (prior to decontamination) down to 3.9 μSv/h (after decontamination). The hot spot has a locally high radiation level due to the accumulation of mud and sand from the gutter. Exposure to a high radiation level can be prevented if you stay far away from the hot spot location.
  In regards to the hot spot, we put up a “No Entry” sign there in order to secure safety of the area. In addition, we called the students' attention not to go near the area.
  In the future, we would like to keep checking the radiation levels around the school and take appropriate measures. The school will continue to release the information, but if there is any other information available locally, please let us know.

(Contact person: Vice principal Yukinori Ishihata)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＊＊＊
Based on the map of Date City’s simultaneous radiation levels surveyed between July 26 through 28, 2012, Oguni Elementary School is located in the grid number J-17, which is circled in red. The coloring of this grid indicates that the ambient radiation level is between 1.01 μSv/h and 1.25 μSv/h.

The ambient radiation levels at various elementary and junior high schools are listed below, with Oguni Elementary School on the very bottom. The first table includes the radiation levels from September 18, 2012, taken at 100 cm from the ground for junior high schools and 50 cm for elementary schools. The September 18th radiation levels for Oguni Elementary School were 0.38 μSv/h in the middle of the schoolyard, 0.08 μSv/h in the middle of a typical ground-floor classroom, and 0.27 μSv/h in the middle of the gymnasium. Results for August 21, 2012, referred to in the above letter, are shown in a separate table. Again, Oguni Elementary School is on the very bottom. The August 21st radiation levels were similar to the September 18 levels, at 0.37 μSv/h, 0.12 μSv/h, and 0.27 μSv/h, respectively

September 18, 2012 results: Oguni Elementary School, No. 小-17, is on the bottom.

August 21, 2012 results: Oguni Elementary School is on the bottom.

The table below shows ambient radiation levels from April 20-25, 2011, about 6 weeks after the nuclear accident, and the they range from 4.90 μSv/h to 5.34 μSv/h. Oguni Elementary School, No. 小-17, is on the bottom.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＊＊＊

Oguni Elementary School officials seem content with the post-decontamination radiation level of 3.9 μSv/h. It is certainly much, much lower than the unbelievable 179 μSv/h. However, it is still too high for anybody, let alone children, to be around.

Nuclear cleanup workers sent in to Fukushima Dai-ichi with “fake resumes” -- Reality of corrupted subcontractor system

2012-09-19T16:42:00.002-05:00

http://8bitnews.asia/wp/?p=3917#.UFlEpVGLuA8

https://twitter.com/8bit_HORIJUN/status/248171487998115840

A brief summary

The nuclear cleanup workers at Fukushima Dai-ichi are inexperienced day laborers gathered from all over Japan, including minors who are 18 to 19. The subcontractor system below TEPCO is multi-layered, involving seven subcontractors in this case. They are given “supposedly blank” resumes with work experience already filled out. After a one-day seminar on radiation, some workers are obviously anxious. They are told by one of the subcontractors that the exposure dose isn’t cumulative and even if they are exposed to 1 mSv of radiation a day, it will be halved daily, reaching zero in 8 days.

In February 2012, Tetsuya Hayashi applied for a job repairing the covering for the reactor 3 building. He was asked to begin work in April 2012. However, the work was postponed, and he was told in early June that he could begin work immediately doing the checkout and checkin of equipments as well as conducting a radiation survey. He was asked to fill out a resume which was pre-filled with a falsified work experience. He was told that his actual work was going to involve changing the agitator inside a decontaminating machine by Areva, a French company, in a high radiation area. He was told that APD (alarm pocket dosimeter) was going to be set for 6 to 9 mSv and 5 alarms would mean 9 mSv. He will switch with someone else after 3 alarms, which means the actual work time will be 5 to 10 minutes. He asked them about the high radiation level, and he was told it was fine because 1 mSv exposure would be halved daily, becoming zero in 8 days. He was told that everyone was exposed to about that much radiation.

He and other workers complained, and they were given a different work. On June 19, 2012, he removed glass pieces so that a new pipe can be put into the reactor building. He complained to his immediate supervisor about the discrepancy in job description. After work he was called to one of the subcontractors and reprimanded for complaining to a higher-level subcontractor without going through the appropriate channel. He was unfairly dismissed. There were 4 to 5 layers of subcontractors between him and the actual employer, and kickbacks were taken out of his wages.

Introductory statement by the former clean-up worker, Tetsuya Hayashi:

On August 24, I, together with “Haken Union,” sent a written proposal to TEPCO, which is undertaking the cleanup work at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (F1), and its seven subcontractors simultaneously. I worked at F1 as a nuclear worker since this June, participating in part of the clean-up operation. What I witnessed was the reality of various acts of dishonesty and kickbacks conducted in the multi-layer subcontracting system. A group of lay people with no knowledge or experience of working with radiation, including minors ages 18 to 19, were sent in to the work site without adequate training and with a false statement of work experience and low wages.

The clean-up work at Fukushima Dai-chi will continue for many tens of years from now on. Without workers on site, there will be no end to the accident. Nevertheless, the disposable nature of the scheme involving the on-site clean-up workers is too absurd and careless. Who is protecting the rights of the workers? If we don’t change that now, children who will be born from now on will have to deal with the hotbed of this injustice. This is a videotaped record of the proof of injustice over a two-month period. I will file a complaint with my real name, Tetsuya Hayashi, hoping for an end to the accident as early as possible.

Short Conversation with Chris Busby

2012-09-19T15:24:00.001-05:00

Short Conversation with Chris Busby

It was brought to our attention that Dr. Chris Busby is referring to the radiation risk model of the ECRR (European Committee on Radiation Risk) having been “recently incorporated into Japanese law” in one of his most recent statements.

As we have not heard such a drastic measure having been taken by the Japanese government, which has always employed the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) standards, we decided to ask Busby which law it was.

　　　　　＊＊＊

Following is the link for the statement in question by Busby, “The Current Radiation Risk Model and its affects on Human Rights,” submitted as part of “Formal Report to the UNHRC, United Nations Human Rights Council.”
http://nuclearjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/UAJWritten-statements-Busby-UNHRC-13th-Sept.pdf

The statement may also be downloaded here.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B68f83tqq7QuYkp2SGVhR2UwV1E/edit

　　　　　＊＊＊

The phrase in question is seen in the paragraph which begins in the very last part of page 1 and continues into the beginning of page 2 of the statement, as excerpted here. The questionable part is shown in bold red letters.

“The averaging process leading to ‘absorbed dose,’ whilst possibly accurate for external exposures, cannot be employed for internal exposures especially to nuclides with chemical affinity for chromosomal components. This has been accepted by the ICRP in its latest report ICRP 103 and regulators are advised to employ different methodology for these internal exposure situations. Such methodology has indeed been developed by the ECRR and the use of the radiation risk model of the ECRR (recently incorporated into Japanese law) leads to accurate prediction of the results of such exposures (ECRR2010).”

　　　　　＊＊＊

Following is a series of e-mails between FRCSR (Fukushima Radiation Contamination Symptoms Research) and Busby.
*********************
September 3, 2012

FRCSR
Dr. Busby, will you be kind enough to answer my question regarding the following statement you made in the attached submission?

"Such methodology has indeed been developed by the ECRR and the use of the radiation risk model of the ECRR (recently incorporated into Japanese Law) leads to accurate prediction of the results of such exposures."

You mention "recently incorporated into Japanese Law." Would it be possible for you to direct me to which law it is? I would like to have the information because I think it is important for all Japanese people to be aware of it. (The government doesn't always volunteer useful information, as you might know.)

Thank you for your time and all the work you do.

Sincerely,
FRCSR
**********************
September 3, 2012

Busby
You need to contact Gen Morita who told me this. I forward this to him.
Chris
***************************
September 3, 2012

FRCSR
Am I correct to understand that you wrote ”recently incorporated into Japanese Law" without verifying which law it was? Shall I contact Mr. Morita myself, or will he contact me?

Sincerely,
FRCSR
***************************

September 4, 2012

Busby
I registered which law it was at the time. I am too busy to chase this up as i have a deadline on a book chapter and get about 500 emails a day. I would be grateful, if you want to know that you check it. I recall from memory it was a new law, just passed, relating to the building of new nuclear power stations, or the development of nuclear energy.
***************************
End of e-mail exchanges.

We are unaware of any new law that passed which incorporated ECRR standards into it. In Japan pretty much everything is based on ICRP standards.

By the way, FRCSR was never contacted by Mr. Gen Morita.

　＊＊＊

Addendum (as of October 8, 2012)

On October 4, 2012, FRCSR received an e-mail from Dr. Busby as below.

Here is the law:

Dear Dr Busby,

The Japanese government passed the "Law of Establishment of Nuclear Regulatory Committee" in June, with an additional resolution which includes Res. 14 stating:

"Regarding the international standard of radiation effects to health, recommendation by ICRP as well as ECRR to be fully validated and reflected in their policies. "

Regards,

Gen
*************

FRCSR has confirmed that the Law of Establishment of Nuclear Regulatory Committee became effective on September 19, 2012, and its Additional Resolution 14 indeed contained a clause referring to ECRR.

Additional Resolution 14: In regards to the international standards relating to health effects of radiation, ECRR (European Committee on Radiation Risk) standards, in addition to ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) standards, should be fully validated and reflected in the policies. In addition, this knowledge should be utilized to consider such effort as risk communication participated by residents.”

Additional Resolution, however, does not seem to be legally binding: it merely asks the government to “honor” it.

FRCSR appreciates Dr. Busby for providing the information.

Excerpts from the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial gathering held in Tokyo on September 14, 2012

2012-09-18T10:06:00.002-05:00

http://twitcasting.tv/matudaira/movie/6403938

Around 3 minutes into the video:

Question about any medical issues in Koriyama-city:

A man’s comment

“I am here from Yokohama. I was diagnosed with arrhythmia one year ago at a check-up. This spring I was told my EKG was abnormal. Also my red blood cell and white blood cell count was abnormal, but the doctor told me it was no big deal and I was working too much. I actually don’t work. Also my right little fingernail split in half recently. Something like this has never happened to me before, and I don’t feel good about it at all. One more thing is that my tooth cracked when eating something hard. I realize I can’t blame everything on radiation, but I don’t feel comfortable with any of these (symptoms). How is it in Koriyama? Are there abnormalities such as arrhythmia?”

Koriyama-city woman’s response

“Thank you for being here, everyone. I would like to talk about what has been happening around me. Last May, an aunt of my daughter’s friend, a woman in her early 40’s, was found dead of heart failure while waiting in a car for about 15 minutes when her husband went into a store to pick up something for their restaurant business located in front of the station: They had gone to the neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture for an errand.

Last May or June, a woman in her early 40’s, an evacuee from Tomioka-machi living in a temporary housing in Koriyama-city, dropped dead when she touched a door. She was taken to Southern General Tohoku Hospital in Koriyama-city, but she died.

Also you might have heard that two to three Fukushima high school students have died. The one that died in July is a friend of a son of my acquaintance. They went to the same elementary school, but they are in different high schools. When the mother went to wake up the child, the child was already dead.

There is a place called Shinobuyama (in Fukushima-city) where an ambient radiation level is very high. (Note: 1.484 μSv/h on September 18, 2012) Fukushima high school students go there to do sports without wearing masks and also commute to schools on bicycles without wearing masks.

Also it might be from aging process, but my acquaintance’s huband died last May, which I didn’t know until the end of the year. I went to the altar shop near my house to buy incense sticks and candles. The old man at the shop came out and said, “I just went to a funeral and I am totally astonished. A 48-year-old son of the greengrocers across the street suddenly died of heart failure.” Also it might be the aging process or the stress, but since the earthquake up to the end of last year, seven people died on this particular shopping street. This May my acquaintance’s husband died at age 74. That’s all that happened around me.”

*****
Question regarding temporary convalescence outside Fukushima:

A man’s comment

“I am active in hosting Fukushima children for at least during a summer break for convalescence in clean air. We only had several children come. As a whole how many Koriyama children actually took part in such convalescence, and what were people’s feelings about it? Some families wanted to spend the summer break convalescing as families. It was difficult to find appropriate accommodation for small children. I am curious how many people actually participated in temporary evacuation and how they might have managed it. For instance, junior high school students might have sports and club activities so they may not be able to leave Koriyama. Some families might have work commitment so they may not be able to leave Koriyama. In addition, I believe that local municipalities and schools in Fukushima should be more active in making this happen. Our group talked to the city and the prefecture to accommodate these children in our city during the summer break. Perhaps that sort of thing should also be done in Koriyama-city.”

Koriyama-city woman’s response

“When it comes to evacuation, a Koriyama city councilor, Yukiko Komazaki, is the mediator for the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial. We have heard there are municipalities outside Fukushima which have offered to accept evacuation of children by schools, and Koriyama-city has had some offers. Yet Koriyama-city itself does not seem interested. Koriyama schools also have had such offers. As far as I know, those who have temporarily evacuated have done so through programs by citizens groups and other prefectures which they found on their own. I heard about someone’s grandchild who did a temporary evacuation to Hokkaido for four weeks during last summer but the child didn’t want to go to live with strangers again despite being fearful of radiation. I think the best thing is for the entire school to go so that all the kids are together, accompanied by teachers and some parents who can help out. This will be more comforting to them. Some children are afraid of being bullied.

Last summer Fukushima Prefecture put in their budget 2.8 billion yen ($36 million) towards convalescence expenses. I heard about this from travel agents. However, this money can only be used for convalescence within Fukushima Prefecture, such as Aizu area (where the radiation level is relatively low). So those who want to send their children outside Fukushima Prefecture cannot take advantage of it.”

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Question about bashing of people who are trying to do the right thing:

A man’s question

I am tired of how people criticize and bash those who are trying to do the right thing, by simply exerting their rights. What did people around you say about your involvement in this trial?

Koriyama-city woman’s response

“I began my participation in this trial as a supporter from part of the way, so I don’t know what sort of reactions the organizers might have encountered. What I can say is that Koriyama-city itself is divided on the issue. Even families are split. A husband might think it’s safe while the wife might be worried about it, or it could be the other way around. Or in some cases grandparents and mothers-in-law might may object to evacuation. I think some people think Koriyama-city is safe. This is kind of a small thing, but I heard of some people receiving sarcastic remarks such as, “It must be nice to be wealthy enough to buy bottled water.” while carrying their bottled water, which is rather big and obvious, up to their floor in the apartment building elevator. I also evacuated in the beginning, after the accident, and when I returned home and went to greet my nextdoor neighbor, I got sneered at. They said, “It’s all a matter of how you think about it.” Now, with the passage of time, it’s like we can’t openly talk about it with anyone. You have to pick whom you talk to about your honest feelings about radiation. Parents are sending their children out of Fukushima on the pretext of reasons other than radiation.”

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A man from the defense counsel for the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial explains:

“All the plaintiffs are anonymous. If they identify themselves, they will obviously be bashed. To put it simply, the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial is a stumbling block to those who want to revive Fukushima. They think the Trial is the biggest reason hindering their effort for revival. We are simply asking for our rights. We are not saying we want to abandon Koriyama: We simply want to let our children escape the danger (of radiation) and we will return once the city becomes safe for children. But they say that thinking alone is the hindrance to revival of the city. Those of us who should be helping with the revival lack confidence in accomplishing it while protecting our health and lives. They think the city will die if people leave. People who are leading the revival of the city are unmotivated, uninterested and apathetic: They don’t seem interested in protecting residents’ health and lives. Also in some cases threatened job security pulled some plaintiffs out of the Trial. One single mother was told to withdraw from the Trial or she would be fired. She had to quit the Trial so that she can go on making living.

Locally in Koriyama this Trial encounters various obstacles. Despite all that pressure, we continue on in order to protect our children. Because of the difficulty encountered in Koriyama, I think it is important for outside people from places like Tokyo to support them.”

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64,478 Koriyama-city children are scheduled to undergo their first thyroid ultrasound examination beginning in early October 2012 through the end of March 2013.