Radiological Protection of People and the Environment in the Event of a Large Nuclear Accident


Draft document: Radiological Protection of People and the Environment in the Event of a Large Nuclear Accident
Submitted by Keiji Hayashi, Iryou Mondai Kenkyukai
Commenting on behalf of the organisation

Comment on Draft Report of Task Group 93

Iryo Mondai Kenkyukai    

Keiji Hayashi, Kuniyoshi Mori, Machiko Izyuin,

Norio Irie, Hidehiko Yamamoto, Tadahito Umeda, Isamu Takamatsu

 

We describe our opinion against the following parts of this revision.

 

‘6.conclusion Table 6.1

Existing exposure situation Public <= 10mSv per year’¡¡

‘The long-term goal is to reduce exposures to the order of 1mSv per year’

 

'The order of 1mSv / year' is incorrect. That should clearly be described as "minimal exposure dose under 1mSv".

In particular, it should be clearly described that expectant and nursing mothers and children need limitations on exposure dose strictly.

The recommendation to ignore the latest scientific research and allow excessive radiation hostile to health including genetic disorders.

 

The reason for this opinion are as follows.

 

We investigated the effects of exposure dose on the fetus after the Fukushima accident.

One result showed that perinatal mortality increased in jumping OR = 1.188 (95% CI 1.085 - 1.301) (increased about 19 %) in six neighboring prefectures, including Fukushima Prefecture, this increasing continued until 2017. Moreover, the increasing in perinatal deaths increased jump OR = 1.106 (95% CI 1.035 - 1.183) (increased about 11%) in the Tokyo, Saitama, and Chiba areas.1),2)

These results indicate the serious situation that the Fukushima nuclear accident affected the fetus.

Recent reports of an increasing in severe cardiac malformations 3) and an increase in Cryptorchidism ( un-descending testes) 4) in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident provide support for an increasing perinatal death.

In addition, an increase in perinatal death5), stillbirth6) and Trisomy- 217) malformations8) have been

reported after the Chernobyl accident,.

According to these studies, it is estimated that the genes are damaged by exposure to 1mSv or less dose.

 

There are many reports of human damages caused by low-dose exposure in recent years beyond these facts. Some of them are shown below. If these studies are considered, this recommendation should not be issued.

 

Many reports on the Chernobyl accident 9), 10) has appeared.

There are reports on the human damages of medical radiation exposure including large-scale reports. 11) -19)

 

There are also reports on nuclear facilities 20), 21), and natural background radiation.22)

There is a very detailed review of previous studies reporting the genetic effects of low-dose exposure. 23)

As is well known, LSS of exposed people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki also has proven that there is no threshold for radiation damage. 24) 25)

 

< reference >

1) Scherb HH, Mori K, Hayashi K. Increases in perinatal mortality in prefectures contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan: A spatially stratified longitudinal study.Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Sep;95(38):e4958.

2) Scherb HH, Mori K, Hayashi K J. Comment on 'Perinatal mortality after the Fukushima accident'. J Radiol Prot. 2019 Jun;39(2):647-649.

3) Murase K, Murase J, Mishima A, et al. Nationwide Increase in Complex Congenital Heart Diseases After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Mar 19;8(6):e009486.

4) Murase K, Murase J, Machidori K, et al. Nationwide Increase in Cryptorchidism After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. 2018 Aug;118:65-70. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2018.04.033.¡Ë

5) H. Scherb, E. Weigelt, I. Bruske-Hohlfeld, Regression analysis of time trends in perinatal mortality in Germany, 1980-1993, Environmental Health Perspectives 108(2) (2000) 159-165.

6) H. Scherb, E. Weigelt, I. Bruske-Hohlfeld, European stillbirth proportion and Chernobyl - Response, International Journal of Epidemiology 29(3) (2000) 597-599

7) K. Sperling J, Pelz RD, Wegner I, et al. Frequency Of Trisomy-21 In Germany Before And After The Chernobyl Accident, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 45(6) (1991) 255-262.

8) H Scherb, E Weigelt. [Cleft lip and cleft palate birth rate in Bavaria before and after the Chernobyl

nuclear power plant accident], Mund Kiefer Gesichtschir 8(2) (2004) 106-10.

9) Pukkala E, Kesminiene A, Poliakov S, et al. Breast cancer in Belarus and Ukraine after the Chernobyl accident. Int J Cancer. 2006 Aug 1;119(3):651-8.

10) Noshchenko AG, Bondar OY, Drozdova VD: Radiation-induced leukemia among children aged 0-5 years at the time of the Chernobyl accident. Int J Cancer 2010: 127: 412-426.

11) Stewart A, Webb J, Giles D, et al. Malignant disease in childhood and diagnostic irradiation in utero. Lancet 1956; 2: 447.

12) Preston-Martin S, Thomas DC, Yu MC & Henderson BE: Diagnostic radiography as a risk factor for chronic myeloid and monocytic Leukaemia. Br J Cancer 1989; 59: 639-644.

13) Doll R and Wakeford R: Risk of childhood cancer from fetal irradiation. Br J Radiol 1997; 70: 130-139.

14) Hujoel PP, Bollen AM, Noonan CJ, et al. Antepartum dental radiography and infant low birth weight. JAMA. 2004 Apr 28;291(16):1987-93.

15) Bartley K, Metayer C, Selvin S, et al. Diagnostic X-ray and risk of childhood leukaemia. Int J Epidemiol 2010; 39: 1628-1637.

16) Eisenberg M, Afilalo J, Lawler PR, et al. Cancer risk related to low-dose ionizing radiation from cardiac imaging in patients after acute myocardial infarction. CMAJ 2011; 183: 430-436.

17) Infante-Rivard C: Diagnostic X rays, DNA repair genes and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Health Phys 2003; 85: 60-64.

18) Pearce MS, Salotti JA, Little MP, et al. Radiation exposure from CT scan in childhood and subsequent risk of leukaemia and brain tumours: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet 2012, on line June 7, DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60815-0.

19) Mathews JD, Forsythe AV, Brady Z, et al. Cancer risk in 680,000 people exposed to computed tomography scans in childhood or adolescence: data linkage study of 11 million Australians. BMJ. 2013 May 21;346:f2360. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f2360.

20) Cardis E, Vrijheid M, Blettner M, The 15-country collaborative study of cancer risk among radiation workers in the nuclear industry: Estimates of radiation-related cancer risks. Rad Res 2007; 167: 396-416.

21) Kaatsch P, Spix C, Schulze-Rath R, et al. Leukemia in young children living in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants. 2008 Feb 15;122 (4):721-6.


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