Intake of radioactive materials as assessed by the duplicate diet method in Fukushima

Sato, Osamu; Nonaka, Shunkichi; Tada, Jun Ichiro

doi:10.1088/0952-4746/33/4/823

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…These results reconfirm that the present levels of internal exposure found in people living in currently inhabited parts of Fukushima and in surrounding prefectures can be considered low [3][4][5]7]. This is different, however, from the perception of many parents raising children in the accident-affected areas, as the analyses of the questionnaire to the parents indicate.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…However, most of the data accumulated and disseminated so far have consistently shown that the internal contamination for the majority of residents has fortunately been so low as to be undetectable [2]. These data include, for example, whole-body-counter surveys [3][4][5][6], duplicatediet studies [7], and the inspection of "all rice in all rice bags" harvested in Fukushima (2012-2014) [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

Hayano

Tsubokura

Miyazaki

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Ser. B: Physical and Biologic

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BABYSCAN, a whole-body counter (WBC) for small children was developed in 2013, and units have been installed at three hospitals in Fukushima Prefecture. Between December, 2013 and March, 2015, 2707 children between the ages of 0 and 11 have been scanned, and none had detectable levels of radioactive cesium. The minimum detectable activities (MDAs) for 137Cs were ≤3.5 Bq kg−1 for ages 0–1, decreasing to ≤2 Bq kg−1 for ages 10–11. Including the 134Cs contribution, these translate to a maximum committed effective dose of ∼16 µSv y−1 even for newborn babies, and therefore the internal exposure risks can be considered negligibly small.Analysis of the questionnaire filled out by the parents of the scanned children regarding their families’ food and water consumption revealed that the majority of children residing in the town of Miharu regularly consume local or home-grown rice and vegetables, while in Minamisoma, a majority avoid tap water and produce from Fukushima. The data show, however, no correlation between consumption of locally produced food and water and the children’s body burdens.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

Hayano

Tsubokura

Miyazaki

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Ser. B: Physical and Biologic

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“…This suggests that levels of internal radiation contamination are minimal amongst most residents of the affected areas in Fukushima, and that preventive food control measures are sufficient to avoid further internal radiation contamination in Fukushima [20]. The majority of inhabitants in the area appear to be consuming agricultural products classified as safe under the food monitoring system, and/or accessing foods from non-contaminated areas through modern food distribution systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction of High Levels of Internal Radio-Contamination by Dietary Intervention in Residents of Areas Affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Disaster: A Case Series

et al. 2014

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Maintaining low levels of chronic internal contamination among residents in radiation-contaminated areas after a nuclear disaster is a great public health concern. However, the efficacy of reduction measures for individual internal contamination remains unknown. To reduce high levels of internal radiation exposure in a group of individuals exposed through environmental sources, we performed careful dietary intervention with identification of suspected contaminated foods, as part of mass voluntary radiation contamination screenings and counseling program in Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital and Hirata Central Hospital. From a total of 30,622 study participants, only 9 residents displayed internal cesium-137 (Cs-137) levels of more than 50 Bq/kg. The median level of internal Cs-137 contamination in these residents at the initial screening was 4,830 Bq/body (range: 2,130–15,918 Bq/body) and 69.6 Bq/kg (range: 50.7–216.3 Bq/kg). All these residents with high levels of internal contamination consumed homegrown produce without radiation inspection, and often collected mushrooms in the wild or cultivated them on bed-logs in their homes. They were advised to consume distributed food mainly and to refrain from consuming potentially contaminated foods without radiation inspection and local produces under shipment restrictions such as mushrooms, mountain vegetables, and meat of wild life. A few months after the intervention, re-examination of Cs levels revealed remarkable reduction of internal contamination in all residents. Although the levels of internal radiation exposure appear to be minimal amongst most residents in Fukushima, a subset of the population, who unknowingly consumed highly contaminated foodstuffs, experienced high levels of internal contamination. There seem to be similarities in dietary preferences amongst residents with high internal contamination levels, and intervention based on pre- and post-test counseling and dietary advice from medical care providers about risky food intake appears to be a feasible option for changing residents' dietary practices, subsequently resulting in a reduction in Cs internal contamination levels.

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“…Another study 15) Cs concentrations exceeding 1 Bq/kg. Even with the largest radioactive cesium value in this survey, daily consumption of such meals throughout a year gave an annual effective dose that did not exceed 0.1 mSv.…”

Section: Discussion and Future Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Internal Dose Estimation Using Whole-Body Counters in Fukushima Prefecture

Miyazaki

Ohtsuru

Ishikawa

2014

FJMS

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: A large amount of radioactive cesium was released by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Due to the increasing concerns about internal exposure, more than 50 whole -body counters (WBCs) have been installed at various locations in Fukushima Prefecture. A study on around 10,000 subjects in the early stage after the accident revealed that very few received a committed effective dose of more than 0.3 mSv for subjects (age >13 years old). Another study on WBC results for one hospital showed that the ratio of cesium -positive was 1.0% among all the subjects. Assuming a constant daily intake, the detection limit of 300 Bq/body for a typical WBC corresponds to an effective dose of 21 μSv/y even for a subject of age up to 10. It was also seen out that the subjects with a significant amount of body cesium are likely to regularly eat wild products, which they harvested or caught themselves without testing for radioactive cesium. These study findings suggested that the internal exposure for most of the residents was controlled at a very low level. Future tasks regarding WBC measurements are how to personally explain the WBC results to each subject and how to disclose the statistically processed WBC data to the general public.

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Intake of radioactive materials as assessed by the duplicate diet method in Fukushima

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

Reduction of High Levels of Internal Radio-Contamination by Dietary Intervention in Residents of Areas Affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Disaster: A Case Series

An Overview of Internal Dose Estimation Using Whole-Body Counters in Fukushima Prefecture

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