CHILDREN and workers exposed to radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster last year can breathe a sigh of relief - most received low doses of radiation. However, the health of some workers will need close monitoring in the future.
These are the main conclusions of an interim report on the health impacts of fallout from Fukushima issued last week in Vienna, Austria, by the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. "For the time being, we don't see anything of major concern," says Wolfgang Weiss, committee chairman. "The levels of exposure are much lower than what we saw at Chernobyl."
The committee evaluated data on radiation absorbed by the population. The report reveals that children in villages with the heaviest fallout received relatively modest doses, although most exceeded a safe annual cumulative dose for workers in the industry.
Monitoring of radioactive iodine in the thyroid glands of 1080 children under 15 revealed that none received doses at levels likely to cause cancer.
However, 167 workers received doses exceeding 100 millisieverts. Of these, six exceeded 250 millisieverts - the equivalent to 12 years of the maximum dose that is considered acceptable within the industry. Two others received 680 millisieverts. These workers will all need careful monitoring, says Weiss.
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