Almost third of US West Coast newborns hit with thyroid problems after Fukushima nuclear disaster
Researchers
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.
3
April, 2013
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. 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.
Americans often doubted
that radiation from the meltdown would affect the US West Coast, but
the latest research sheds light on alarming scientific data that
indicates otherwise. Radioactive iodine that enters the human body
typically gathers in the thyroid, which release growth hormones.
Radiation exposure can therefore stunt the growth of a child’s body
and brain. Exposure can have long-lasting effects, which scientists
have studied in those who were near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
during its 1986 meltdown. Decades after the accident, a 2011 study by
the National Institutes of Health found that higher absorption of
I-131 radiation led to an increased risk for thyroid cancer among
victims of Chernobyl radiation – a risk that has not diminished
over time.
The children who were
unfortunate enough to be exposed to Fukushima radiation on the US
West Coast, Alaska or Hawaii could face similar risks of congenital
hypothyroidism or thyroid cancer throughout their lives, although the
Radiation and Health Project Researchers said they are still
investigating further to see what other factors might be involved in
their findings before drawing any solid conclusions about the effects
of Fukushima.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.