Radioactive Iodine Concentration in the Fetal Human Thyroid Gland from Fall-out

Beierwaltes, William H.

doi:10.1001/jama.1960.03020350013003

Cited by 23 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Studies should not be limited to the Fukushima area because doses in distant locations may be lower. Fallout from the meltdown crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the US west coast in five [5] days, eventually circling the entire northern hemisphere. Thus, many were exposed to relatively low doses of Fukushima radioactivity-which nonetheless pose a risk to human health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in confirmed plus borderline cases of congenital hypothyroidism in California as a function of environmental fallout from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown

Mangano¹,

Sherman²,

Busby³

2013

OJPed

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Radiation exposure has been linked to increased risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) for decades. CH is a relatively uncommon condition, occurring in about 1 of 2000 US births. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels for each child born in California permitted an analysis of combined confirmed and borderline CH cases. Borderline/confirmed CH cases are more than seven times greater than just confirmed cases. Airborne levels of gross beta nuclear radiation in the US were elevated in the period starting several days after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, especially in west coast states like California. The borderline/confirmed CH rate for newborns during the last 9.5 months in 2011 (exposed to Fukushima in utero) vs. births during other periods in 2011 and 2012 (not exposed) was significantly elevated, suggesting that adverse health effects to the newborn thyroid were not restricted to just a small number of confirmed CH cases. The sensitivity of the fetus to radiation exposure, plus the presence of thyroid-seeking radioiodine, suggest further analysis of Fukushima's potential to cause adverse health effects in newborns is needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest elevated CH rates were documented after expo-sures to high doses of radioiodine. These populations include residents of the Marshall Islands exposed to 1954 hydrogen bomb tests [1,2] as well as subsequent nuclear tests [3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in confirmed plus borderline cases of congenital hypothyroidism in California as a function of environmental fallout from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown

Mangano¹,

Sherman²,

Busby³

2013

OJPed

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“…Academic researchers and persons in the medical field noticed that radioactive Iodine-131 started to appear in animal and human thyroids and connected these results with the timing and incidence of domestic atomic tests (Comar et al, 1957;Van Middlesworth, 1956;Beierwaltes et al, 1960). Other researchers found long lived isotopes of Strontium-90 absorbed by wheat hundreds to thousands of miles from the test site (Lee 1959;Kulp and Slatter 1958;Olson 1959Olson & 1962and Rivera 1961).…”

Section: Biological Effects Of Radiation Poisoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud: Nuclear Testing, Radioactive Fallout, and Damage to U.S. Agriculture, 1945 to 1970

Meyers¹

2019

J. Econ. Hist.

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In the 1950s the United States conducted scores of atmospheric nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site. This article studies the effects of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests on agriculture in regions hundreds of miles from the NTS. While research has shown that this radioactive material posed a health risk near the NTS, little is known about the direct economic effects nuclear testing may have had. I find that fallout from nuclear tests adversely affected U.S. agricultural production, and this result suggests that nuclear testing had a much broader economic and environmental impact than previously thought.

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“…In the mid-1950s, during the period of atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, I-131 produced by fission was first detected in the adult human thyroid [16,17]. I-131 concentrations were calculated to be about 10 times higher in the human fetal thyroid vs. the human adult or hog thyroid [18], and maximum elevations in fetal thy-roids were detected approximately one month after nuclear explosions [19]. The main path of exposure to shortlived isotopes such as I-131 is via dairy products due to radioactive fallout deposition on forage [20].…”

Section: Exposure To Radioactive Iodine As a Factor In Congenital Hypmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown

Mangano¹,

Sherman²

2013

OJPed

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Various reports indicate that the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism is increasing in developed nations, and that improved detection and more inclusive criteria for the disease do not explain this trend entirely. One risk factor documented in numerous studies is exposure to radioactive iodine found in nuclear weapons test fallout and nuclear reactor emissions. Large amounts of fallout disseminated worldwide from the meltdowns in four reactors at the Fukushima-Dai-ichi plant in Japan beginning March 11, 2011 included radioiodine isotopes. Just days after the meltdowns, I-131 concentrations in US precipitation was measured up to 211 times above normal. Highest levels of I-131 and airborne gross beta were documented in the five US States on the Pacific Ocean. The number of congenital hypothyroid cases in these five states from March 17-December 31, 2011 was 16% greater than for the same period in 2010, compared to a 3% decline in 36 other US States (p < 0.03). The greatest divergence in these two groups (+28%) occurred in the period March 17-June 30 (p < 0.04). Further analysis, in the US and in other nations, is needed to better understand any association between iodine exposure from Fukushima-Dai-ichi and congenital hypothyroidism risk.

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Radioactive Iodine Concentration in the Fetal Human Thyroid Gland from Fall-out

Cited by 23 publications

References 9 publications

Changes in confirmed plus borderline cases of congenital hypothyroidism in California as a function of environmental fallout from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown

Changes in confirmed plus borderline cases of congenital hypothyroidism in California as a function of environmental fallout from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown

In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud: Nuclear Testing, Radioactive Fallout, and Damage to U.S. Agriculture, 1945 to 1970

Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown

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