Science
Fukushima’s Children Aren’t Dying

Fukushima’s Children Aren’t Dying

Three years after a nuclear power plant accident, the Japanese suffer a thyroid cancer scare manufactured by major media. ...
Rebecca Terrell

The latest news from Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture sounds horrifying. “Thyroid Cancer in Children Surge in Fukushima Since Nuclear Meltdown,” shrieked a recent EcoWatch headline. “More than 100 youngsters in Japan diagnosed with thyroid cancer after Fukushima nuclear meltdown,” cried the Mirror. The gist of the stories is that, of the more than 350,000 youngsters exposed three years ago to radiation from a tsunami-ravaged nuclear power plant, 104 of them now have thyroid cancer. Both stories quoted Joseph Mangano of the Radiation and Public Health Project, who called the statistics “disturbing” and claimed that under normal circumstances only seven children in a population that size would be expected to develop the disease.

A closer look at the situation paints quite a different picture. In fact, current research indicates thyroid cancer rates in Fukushima may be lower than in other prefectures farther from the nuclear plant.

In August, the prefectural government published findings from its Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS), which conducted screenings of area residents who were age 18 or under when the accident occurred. They focused on this age group because children’s thyroid glands are particularly susceptible to the carcinogenic effects of radioactive iodine (131I), which escaped from the power plant during the accident. FHMS reported 57 definitive cases of thyroid cancer, one benign tumor, and 46 other suspicious cases. The latter involve tiny precancerous nodules which are very common. According to the Mayo Clinic, “One in three people have a thyroid nodule,” and these are rarely cancerous.

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