Flashback to just 15 months ago...
Fukushima kids have skyrocketing number of thyroid abnormalities - report — RT News18 February 2013A recent report into the Fukushima Nuclear disaster of 2011 has shown that
more than forty percent of children have thyroid abnormalities.The Tenth Report of the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey, released earlier this week, with data up to January 21, 2013, revealed that 44.2 percent of 94,975 children sampled had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities.
The number of abnormalities has also been increasing over time as well as the proportion of children with nodules equal to and larger than 5.1 mm and any size cysts have increased.
The report has also revealed that 10 of 186 eligible are suspected of having thyroid cancer as a result of the exposed radiation...
Protestors carry placards as they march in Tokyo's shopping district of Shinjuku on May 18, 2013 (exactly one year ago),
calling for the evacuation of children still living in the Fukushima prefecture area. 07 April 2013As Fears Of Fukushima's Radiation Linger, Children Flee Homes For Distant SchoolsMATSUMOTO, Japan (AP) — The 12-year-old girl didn't want to leave her younger brother, and her grandparents didn't want her to go away. But a family living near the "no-go zone" surrounding Japan's destroyed nuclear plant has other things to consider.
Yukie Hashimoto and her husband sent their daughter 300 kilometers (200 miles) away to the picturesque ski town of Matsumoto, where the mayor offered to take in and educate young people living in the shadow of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
Research has not shown the children to be in clear danger from exposure to low-dose radiation, but mistrust of the authorities remains high. The Hashimoto family, and the parents of seven other children, accepted the offer.
"
I didn't really believe things are as safe as the government is telling us," said Hashimoto, who lives in Koriyama, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the 20-kilometer no-go zone.
"We made our decision with her future, 10 years and 20 years later, in mind."The eight students — seven in junior high school and one in elementary school — began their new lives this month, with the beginning of Japan's school year. They live in a rented house with bunk beds and live-in caretakers.
The project is the brainchild of Mayor Akira Sugenoya, a medical doctor who performed more than 100 thyroid-cancer surgeries in neighboring Belarus after the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe.
For those outside the largely off-limits 20-kilometer zone, taking such a drastic step is relatively rare. The Hashimoto family went back and forth.
A wide range of views on the risks of radiation has divided both their family and entire communities. Hashimoto was nervous about speaking to a reporter, because raising questions can get one branded as a troublemaker. She requested that her daughter remain anonymous for fear of a backlash.
Like many near the Fukushima plant, Hashimoto routinely measured the radioactivity in her neighborhood. Some spots were a bit high, in a gray area where science is divided about the longtime effects. Children are far more vulnerable to radiation than adults.
The girl's grandparents and her college-age brother find the fretting about radiation ridiculous. But for the 12-year-old herself, the sticking point was her 5-year-old younger brother, who cannot be part of the program, which starts at third grade.
The girl said she was worried she wouldn't be there to watch over the boy, making sure he wore masks and didn't eat local food.
Then the girl started getting nosebleeds and growing pale and lethargic.That may have had nothing to do with radiation, but it made Hashimoto decide to get her out, and her husband relented.
"The low-dose radiation is continuing. There is no precedent. We don't know what effect that will have on our children,"Hashimoto said.
So far, 33 children have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer in Fukushima in the last three years among 270,000 checked, 18 years old and under. Thyroid cancer among children is rare at a handful in a million. But some experts say the higher cases are merely a result of more rigorous checking. Also, the surge in thyroid cancer did not surface until four or five years after Chernobyl.
The U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has concluded that cancer rates won't increase in a discernible way, estimating the risk for thyroid cancer to be for "fewer than 1,000 children."
"
The bottom line is: No one knows for sure. What we do know is that the cases of cancer are up, and so naturally we are worried," said Hiroshi Ueki, a former Fukushima resident who moved with his wife and two children and oversees the nonprofit Matsumoto project.
It relies heavily on donations; the parents pay 30,000 yen ($300) a month to cover basic living expenses.
A recent government study by the National Center for Child Health and Development found
one in four children from the prefectures struck by the 2011 disaster, including Fukushima, suffered depression, anxiety and other mental problems.Kokoro Kamiyama, 13, the first child to sign on to the Matsumoto project, was prone to skipping school when she was in Fukushima, which her mother believes was a sign of stress from worrying about radiation.
Living through the 2011 disaster made her decide to be a doctor when she grows up, she says in a soft voice. She is happy she can run around outdoors in Matsumoto without wearing a mask.
"The air feels so clean here," Kamiyama said.
"I love playing badminton. And tag."Last Friday, she looked very much at home as she sat in the gymnasium decorated with flowers at Aida Junior High School for a school opening ceremony.
So did Hashimoto's daughter, though she had a rough start in Matsumoto. She was in constant tears for the first few days, but by Friday she said she had made lots of great friends.
Those friends are mostly her fellow boarders, from Fukushima. They're sticking together.
For more information on the Matsumoto project:
http://www.kodomoryugaku-matsumoto.net/?page_id=614Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama
25 April 2013Almost third more US West Coast newborns may face thyroid problems after Fukushima nuclear disasterResearchers have discovered that the Fukushima nuclear disaster has had far-reaching health effects more drastic than previously thought: young children born on the US West Coast are 28 percent more likely to develop congenital hyperthyroidism.In examining post-Fukushima conditions along the West Coast, researchers found American-born children to be developing similar conditions that some Europeans acquired after the 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
“Fukushima fallout appeared to affect all areas of the US, and was especially large in some, mostly in the western part of the nation,”
researchers from the New York-based Radiation and Health Project wrote in a study published by the
Open Journal of Pediatrics.
Children born after the 2011 meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are at high risk of acquiring congenital hyperthyroidism if they were in the line of fire for radioactive isotopes.Researchers studied concentration levels of radioiodine isotopes (I-131) and congenital hypothyroid cases to make the association.
Just a few days after the meltdown, I-131 concentration levels in California, Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon and Washington were up to
211 times above the normal level, according to the study.
21,100 %, for those of you in Rio Linda,
Le Dave.
At the same time, the number of congenital hypothyroid cases skyrocketed, increasing by an average of 16 percent from March 17 to Dec. 31, 2011. And between March 17 and June 30, shortly after the meltdown,
newly born children experienced a 28 percent greater risk of acquiring hyperthyroidism.In 36 other US states outside of the exposure zone, the risk of congenital hyperthyroidism decreased by 3 percent – a finding that researchers believe may serve as further proof that Fukushima had something to do with the unusually high results found on the West Coast.
The disease is usually rare, but can manifest into a serious condition if left untreated. Affected fetuses and children may suffer serious developmental delay – and a recent report found that
44.2 percent of 94,975 sampled Fukushima children have had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities as a likely result of their exposure to the radiation.
One year later.A girl wearing a mask sits in a school bus heading to the Emporium kindergarten in Koriyama,
west of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Fukushima prefecture, Japan (photo courtesy CBS News) Fukushima's lasting impact on kids' health - CBS News28 February 2014March 11 marks the third anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
In Koriyama, a short drive from the crippled nuclear plant, the city recommended that children up to two years old not spend more than 15 minutes outside each day and those aged 3 to 5 should limit their outdoor time to 30 minutes or less. The limits were lifted last year, but many kindergartens and nursery schools continue to obey them even now in line with the wishes of worried parents.
An annual survey by the Fukushima prefecture Board of Education found that children in Fukushima weighed more than the national average in virtually every age group. The cause seems to be a lack of exercise and outdoor activity.
10 March 2014Japan parents near Fukushima nuclear disaster still too scared to let kids play outside - CBS NewsKORIYAMA CITY -- As indoor play centers go, "Pep Kids Koriyama," in a former supermarket warehouse, is nothing short of lavish. The free, public facility is equipped with a jogging track, obstacle course, playhouse, and a mind-numbing set of equipment to climb, jump, swing from and gerbil-run on.
But the jewel in the crown at Pep Kids is an enormous sandbox -- complete with running water -- where kids happily run around barefoot, burrowing and making mud pies.
Japan's Fukushima prefecture may be the only place on earth where shoveling sand is considered a luxury.Customers are limited to 90 minutes per visit, but even with frequent turnover, demand is so high on weekends the facility invariably hits its capacity 600 users, who frolic within
walls painted to remind them of the once-pristine trees, mountains and lakes of Fukushima.About 40 miles east of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Pep Kids was dreamed up shortly after the accident; as a desperately needed oasis for preschoolers and elementary age students
whose world had become a no-man's land...PEP network was inaugurated in May, 2011, to discuss how adults in the community protect and raise children who have been exposed to consistent low-level radioactivity, and to put our plans into practice.Specifically, our goals are to provide an environment where children can play and exercise without concern for radioactivity exposure: care for the mental health of these children; advise parents about the care of their children, and provide information on the possible effects of radioactivity on the health of children.
The goal was to provide, as quickly as possible, places for children to be physically active and play without fear of the effects of radioactivity exposure. The Koriyama City Child Mental Health Care Project held Summer Kids Fest in cooperation with Koriyama City, Koriyama Medical Association, and a group of volunteers from BorneLund.
3,500 children and their parents visited the three-day indoor event: Summer Kids Fest was a great success! This event was the first step in the birth of PEP Kids Koriyama.
This is our future - the future for our children - paying an exorbitant amount to allow our children to play in a radiation-free environment - unless we unite as One and end this nuclear insanity.
Fukushima radiation killing our children, govt hides truth - former mayor — RT News21 April 2014Katsutaka Idogawa, former mayor of Futaba, a town near the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant, is warning his country that radiation contamination is affecting Japan’s greatest treasure – its children.
Asked about government plans to relocate the people of Fatuba to the city of Iwaki, inside the Fukushima prefecture, Idogawa criticized the move as a
“violation of human rights.”Compared with Chernobyl, radiation levels around Fukushima “are four times higher,”he told RT’s Sophie Shevardnadze, adding that
“It’s too early for people to come back to Fukushima prefecture.”
It is by no means safe, no matter what the government says.”
Idogawa alleges that the government has started programs to return people to their towns despite the danger of radiation.
“Fukushima Prefecture has launched the
Come Home campaign.
In many cases, evacuees are forced to return.
The former mayor produced a map of Fukushima Prefecture that showed that air contamination decreased a little, but soil contamination remains the same."
According to Idogawa, there are about
two million people residing in the prefecture who are reporting “all sorts of medical issues,” but the government insists these conditions are unrelated to the Fukushima accident. Idogawa wants their denial in writing.
“I demanded that the authorities substantiate their claim in writing but they ignored my request.”
Once again, Idogawa alludes to the nuclear tragedy that hit Ukraine on April 26, 1986, pleading that the Japanese people “never forget Chernobyl.” Yet few people seem to be heeding the former government official’s warning.
“They believe what the government says, while in reality radiation is still there.
This is killing children.
They die of heart conditions, asthma, leukemia, thyroiditis… Lots of kids are extremely exhausted after school; others are simply unable to attend PE classes.
But the authorities still hide the truth from us, and I don’t know why. Don’t they have children of their own?
It hurts so much to know they can’t protect our children.“They say Fukushima Prefecture is safe,
and that’s why nobody’s working
to evacuate children, move them elsewhere.
We’re not even allowed to discuss this.”
The former mayor found it ironic that when discussing the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled for 2020, Prime Minister Abe frequently mentions the Japanese word, “omotenashi,” which literally means that you should
“treat people with an open heart.”In Idogawa’s opinion, the same treatment does not apply equally to the people most intimately connected with Fukushima: the workers involved in the cleanup operations.
“Their equipment was getting worse; preparation was getting worse. So people had to think about their safety first. That’s why those who understood the real danger of radiation began to quit. Now we have unprofessional people working there.
They don’t really understand what they’re doing. That’s the kind of people who use the wrong pump, who make mistakes like that.
“I’m really ashamed for my country, but I have to speak the truth for the sake of keeping our planet clean in the future.Idogawa then made some parallels with one of the most tragic events in the history of Japan: the use of atomic bombs on the industrial cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States at the end of World War II.
“The authorities lied to everyone (about the effects of the atomic bombings) ...They hid the truth. That’s the situation we are living in. It’s not just Fukushima. Japan has some dark history. This is a sort of a sacrifice to the past.” [..]
Idogawa goes on to provide a blueprint for fulfilling Japan’s energy needs that sounds surprisingly simple.
“We can provide electricity for a large number of people even with limited investment, without taxes. Just use gravity, and we may have so much energy that there’ll be no need for nuclear plants anymore.”Premonitions of disasterEven before the massive failure at the Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, the day northeastern Japan was hit by an earthquake-triggered tsunami that caused the meltdown of three of the plant's six nuclear reactors, Idogawa knew the facility was dangerous.
“I asked them about potential accidents at a nuclear power plant, pretending I didn’t know anything about it, and it turned out they were unable to answer many of my questions,” he said.
“Frankly, that’s when it first crossed my mind that their management didn’t have a contingency plan. It was then that I realized the facility could be dangerous.”The former mayor, who happened to be in a nearby town on the day the tsunami struck, recalled driving back to Futaba upon news of the earthquake. Only later did he discover how close he came to losing his life in the approaching tsunami.
“I managed to get there before the bigger tsunami came. It was only later that I realized that I escaped the water... I got lucky. The tsunami came after I drove off that road and up the mountains.”[...]
Beyond nuclear energyKatsutaka Idogawa believes a transformation to a cleaner, safer form of energy source for Japan would require a willingness to change the country’s laws.
“There are many laws in Japan, perhaps too many. There are laws about rivers and the ways they’re used. We could change laws regarding agricultural water use and start using rivers to produce electricity. Changing just this law alone will allow us to produce a lot of energy.”All of this could be accomplished
“without contaminating our planet.”
However, such bold proposals do not “appeal to big companies, because you don’t need big investments, you don’t need to build big power plants.
It’s not that profitable for investors, for capitalists.”But for the former mayor of a devastated Japanese town, lost to nuclear radiation, Idogawa senses a sea change forming in public opinion.
The Japanese people are beginning to “realize that we need to avert nuclear disasters, so 60-70 percent of the population is in favor of using natural energy.”
“It took us a long time, but one day we’ll follow the example of Europe, of Germany.”