What I learned at a symposium: “Considering Radiation Exposure Now – What Should We Do, Three Decades after the Chernobyl Disaster?”

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On Saturday, December 12, 2015, the Low-dose Radiation Exposure and Health Project, an environmentalist group specializing in low-dose radiation and its effects on health, held a symposium titled “Ima Hibaku wo Kangaeru –Chernobyl 30 nen, Watashitachi ga Ima Nasubeki Kotowa” (Considering Radiation Exposure Now – What Should We Do, Three Decades after the Chernobyl Disaster?). I attended the symposium which was held at Citizens Fellowship Plaza, Koriyama City, Fukushima.

The following five experts made presentations, which were followed by a Q&A time with the audience.

  1. Associate Professor Sadatsugu Okuma (Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University): “Summarizing claims of over-diagnoses in medical checkups of Fukushima citizens”
  2. Hisako Sakiyama  (formerly a researcher at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences): “Calling Fukushima ‘safe’ and letting its former residents move back – responsibilities of experts”
  3. Professor Shoji Sawada (professor emeritus, Nagoya University): “Truth about what radioactive fallout did to atomic bomb victims”
  4. Professor Nobuhito Sone (Kyushu Institute of Technology): “How to protect yourselves from radiation – errors of the protective measures proposed by the ICRP or Japan”
  5. Masamichi Nishio (honorary director, Hokkaido Cancer Center): “Syndrome of long-life radioactive elements taken into the body”

Today, here in Fukushima Prefecture, we are witnessing many cases of thyroid cancer among children, and experts are divided in their opinions, with some ascribing the phenomenon to over-diagnoses. Said Mr. Masamicchi Nishio, one of the speakers at our symposium, “If exposure to low-dose radiation is a major cause of many cases of thyroid cancer among Fukushima children, the exposure must be considerable. Considering the time the cancer takes to develop, the effects of low-dose exposure should emerge fully in the years to come.” In any case, the cause of child thyroid cancer cases should be identified in a few years, according to the symposium’s speakers.

Meanwhile, in some of the cases of child thyroid cancer, the cancer has metastasized to the lungs, and cases of adult thyroid cancer are on the rise as well. Fukushima Medical University reports that it has been conducting more operations for adult thyroid cancer over the last few years. Furthermore, thyroid cancer shows a high rate of recurrence—some 36% of cases within 30 years. Medical personnel are, in fact, already witnessing a rise in thyroid cancer cases, according to medical sources. Though I check newspapers daily for news on nuclear power plants and radiation, so far I have never seen a report on such recurrences in any paper. I honestly think there is some bias in press reports.

A nuclear disaster, once it hits, destroys the very foundation of life; and its devastative effects last longer than any one person’s whole lifetime. In the case of Fukushima, we have yet to hold any specific party accountable. In fact, to the contrary, the national government, who is to be held accountable, determines radiation related policies and is calling Fukushima “safe.” Moreover, in its efforts to promote the use of nuclear energy, the government is underestimating the risks of radiation. If we do not wish to be deceived by the government, each and every one of us needs to learn objective, scientific facts and think on his/her own. While none of us is able to exercise much influence alone, together we can do something. What we truly need is a democratic society without nuclear power, where individuals’ rights and health are the top priority.