Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2120

and on page VII-10:
"Also, from March 26 through March 30 the Nuclear Emergency Response Local Headquarters implemented a survey on thyroid exposure for infants in Iwaki City, Kawamata Town and Iidate Village in cooperation with Fukushima Prefecture in order to understand more precisely the current exposure dose, particularly the health effects to infants who are highly-sensitive. In its implementation, exposure of infants was measured in areas where residents were instructed to stay in-house or in areas whose equivalent dose in thyroid glands was rated as high by the estimation derived by SPEEDI (announced on March 23), and technical advice was received from the Nuclear Safety Commission on the measuring method. From the results among the 1,080 children from 0 to 15 years old that were surveyed for thyroid exposure, there were no children exceeding the screening level of 0.2 μSv/h (equivalent to 100 mSv as thyroid gland equivalent dose for a 1-year old baby)."
by Peter Melzer 8/11/2011 2:51:20 PM

@dean Pipe elbow speaks for itself, but my opinions are not trusted, even when supported with website evidence.
by RBeaner 8/11/2011 2:52:47 PM

I'm cool with your calc's RBearner on an answer for that
by dean 8/11/2011 2:53:29 PM

@ Peter and Edano.. I'll be there are people at fuku who could have been taking uptakes of salt tab's all along,,, it would be interesting to see what side affects have been reported from taking too much over a period of time
by dean 8/11/2011 2:54:25 PM

@RBeaner , looks like the pipe is shielded with concrete bandages and we do not really know whether the contamination stems from the brown stuff running down on the outside of the pipe or from a pinhole at the bottom of the pipe or both.
by Peter Melzer 8/11/2011 2:55:45 PM

@lillymunster You cite maximum exposures for nuclear workers, please provide a link for them in your articleand the goj article that says KI is available but don't take it. Just provide the support for your positions in your article.
by RBeaner 8/11/2011 2:58:04 PM

@ Peter... agree.. I probably would say, if the person with the meter gets the contact rad level the safest thing is to figure the worst case and then use the general square law for what the equivalent level would be at 1, 2, 3 and so on feet from the source. I was used to having my rad techs post the ribbon at a level of 5mr/hr.
by dean 8/11/2011 3:00:43 PM

@lillymunster very good article. i like it. maybe you should mention the reduced icrp recommendation of 50 mSv for children (including babies !). and consequently, nisa stated that there is no need for iodine because 35 is lower than 50.
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:01:11 PM

@Edano You still there? The Thyroid refills every day, there is no reserve of stable or rad iodine in the body. It expells any excess every 18 hrs, and then is looking for an influx. Similar to potassium.
by RBeaner 8/11/2011 3:01:55 PM

@Edano US FDA adv ice for KI, may not be immaculate, but was pre disaster so to me is true science www.fda.gov
by RBeaner 8/11/2011 3:06:55 PM

@Edano I was interested in the Berlin online article you posted about 30% of 94 people returning from Japan having higher levels of radiation. Thanks. Was there any information on where those individuals may have travelled within Japan though? Sorry...I don't read German.
by Will 8/11/2011 3:07:15 PM

@ Edano is lillies article on the simply info.. I would love to read it
by dean 8/11/2011 3:07:26 PM

@ Dean, I posted the text of it below
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:08:22 PM

I will try to go get it .. ty lilly...
by dean 8/11/2011 3:08:47 PM

@Will no. the did not say.
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:09:33 PM

@Will I have been using google chrome to read foreign language articles. It will automatically translate when it loads the page. They also have an add on for Chrome that will translate multi-lingual pages if the built in one doesn't. It makes things way easier
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:11:06 PM

@Dean, I can repost it if your having a problem finding it in old posts
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:13:00 PM

@ lilly, if it's the 8:46 on I am reading that
by dean 8/11/2011 3:16:22 PM

yes
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:19:19 PM

very good article along with the comments made... here is an interesting point "Newborn infants (less than 1 month old) who receive more than one dose of KI are at particular risk for developing a condition known as hypothyroidism (thyroid hormone levels that are too low). If not treated, hypothyroidism can cause brain damage. Infants who receive KI should have their thyroid hormone levels checked and monitored by a doctor. Avoid repeat dosing of KI to newborns."
by dean 8/11/2011 3:21:33 PM

www.bt.cdc.gov source for that quote
by dean 8/11/2011 3:22:44 PM

patassium iodide is recommended to be taken every 24 hours. no remarkable side / adverse effects or overdose problems.
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:23:14 PM

'In 1945, millions of Japanese were exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons, and the effects can still be measured. Today, nearly half (44.8%) the survivors of Nagasaki studied have identifiable thyroid disease, with the American Medical Association reporting “it is remarkable that a biological effect from a single brief environmental exposure nearly 60 years in the past is still present and can be detected.”' en.wikipedia.org
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:24:47 PM

I think that , in general, when we think of nuclear accidents it's like it happens, rad levels increase etc. and then things settle back down and it's over. In fuku's case, it's a chronic long term issue
by dean 8/11/2011 3:25:13 PM

good point Edano
by dean 8/11/2011 3:25:39 PM

found another piece of info on page VII-7: "
2. Response to radiation exposure of residents in the vicinity and the overall situation
(1) Distribution of stable iodine, etc.
1) Situation of acquiring stable iodine
Fukushima Prefecture distributed necessary iodine (pills: about 1.51 million pills (for
about 0.75 million people), powder: about 6,100 g (for about 0.12 to 0.18 million people))
to cities, towns and villages with administrative districts within 50 km of the Fukushima
Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station. This amount exceeds the need for 0.69 million people, or the population equivalent (of those under 40 years old) to the cities, towns and villages within the 50 km radius of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station."
by Peter Melzer 8/11/2011 3:26:54 PM

@dean and they did not add those who died of thyroid cancer resp. the metastases.
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:26:58 PM

good point Edano.. and the way they are starting off on tracking with the fuku, fatalities and significant data gathering on exposure versus cancers etc.. will probably not be as good as what happened in 1945.
by dean 8/11/2011 3:28:30 PM

@ Peter, are they saying that had enough for every one to gulp a couple of tablets and that was it/
by dean 8/11/2011 3:30:30 PM

@Peter Melzer "Fukushima Prefecture distributed necessary iodine pills: about 1.51 million pills (for about 0.75 million people)"
this means 2 pills each person. this is enough ? 2 days ?
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:31:07 PM

@Lilly Excellent article! Thank you for your great work. Here's a few suggestions for readability: Paragraph 4--"The maximum whole body annual dose a nuclear worker in Japan could have before the disaster was 100 mSv. The maximum yearly dose a nuclear worker in Germany could have is 20 mSv." I suggest changing it to "The maximum whole body annual dose allowed a nuclear worker in Japan before the disaster was 100 mSv. The maximum yearly dose allowed a nuclear worker in Germany is 20 mSv." Paragraph 6--"Nobody took the iodine and now children in the region are showing with radiation contamination in their thyroids." Should that be "showing up with"? Or "...now children in the region are showing radiation contamination...." (edit out the "with"). Last paragraph-- "Some people had reported being unable to access a whole body scanner to have it done." Change "had reported" to "have reported". And lastly, "People are living with uncertainty about their safety or the realistic ability to rebuild in the area due to the contamination and lack of detailed information." could be changed to "People are living with both uncertainty about their safety and with confusion concerning realistically being able to rebuild in the area due to contamination and the lack of detailed, trustworthy information." Lilly, you ROCK!
by ariadne 8/11/2011 3:32:06 PM

@ariadne , perhaps this should read "...nobody was advised when to begin taking the pills..."
by Peter Melzer 8/11/2011 3:36:18 PM

@Edano would they have considered older people not getting it to be exempt therefore leaving more pills for younger people?
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:37:21 PM

@ Edano, from what I see, if the Radioactive Iodine continues to be present then repeated dosages within the guidlines for adults, youth, infants etc. and as the concentration in the thyroid begins to deplete the gland begins to be more susceptible to damage. It would be so hard to deal with

by dean 8/11/2011 3:38:20 PM

@Peter Melzer @Lilly yes, that is better
by ariadne 8/11/2011 3:38:36 PM

@Peter Melzer From what I read was they were specifically told to wait for an announcement before taking it rather than given the pills without information...
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:38:44 PM

@lillymunster well they say: 1.5 mio pills for .75 mio people. i think it means the people who need to take it.
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:39:03 PM

@Edano the people who did emergency preparedness can't count? :-)
by lillymunster 8/11/2011 3:39:50 PM

somewhere in there I saw an age cut off for iodine of under 40 years old
by ariadne 8/11/2011 3:40:14 PM

@lillymunster , when you read the NISA statements I quoted carefully, they mean that the local municipalities were given the pills and it was up to them to decide how to dole the out, and the citizens were to await further instructions.
by Peter Melzer 8/11/2011 3:42:08 PM

Young Adults: The FDA recommends that young adults (between the ages of 18 and 40 years) internally contaminated with (or likely to be internally contaminated with) radioactive iodine take the recommended dose of KI. Young adults are less sensitive to the effects of radioactive iodine than are children.
by dean 8/11/2011 3:42:24 PM

... so who knows how many people actually took the pills and what instructions they followed.
by Peter Melzer 8/11/2011 3:43:46 PM

Roswell Park's Dr. Rigual says even relatively modest doses of radiation can increase the risk that a person will develop thyroid cancer at some point in life. There's a delay between exposure and cancer that can run 10 to 20 years, he says.

The supplemental iodine isn't a complete guarantee of protection. A lag in taking the pills after exposure can reduce the supplement's effectiveness, for instance. Also, the iodine pills only offer work against radioactive iodine — not other radioactive elements, such as cesium, which has also been detected
www.npr.org
by dean 8/11/2011 3:46:28 PM

@ Peter I agree
by dean 8/11/2011 3:47:06 PM

@Peter Melzer you found out that the scans were made between march 26 and 30. this is about two half lives after the explosions. i would say the real exposure must have been 4 times higher according to this (half life of J131 = 8 days).
by Edano 8/11/2011 3:47:22 PM