Fukushima Nuclear Accident Reports Higher Risks of Cancer

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported, based on a 'Health Risk Assessment from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami based on preliminary dose estimation' that there is a greater risk for specific cancers in certain subsets of the population in Fukushima Prefecture, which calls for long term continued monitoring and health screening for those in the area.

Experts estimated risks in the general population in Fukushima Prefecture, the rest of Japan and the rest of the world, plus the power plant and emergency workers that may have been exposed during the emergency phase response.

"The primary concern identified in this report is related to specific cancer risks linked to particular locations and demographic factors," says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director for Public Health and Environment. "A breakdown of data, based on age, gender and proximity to the nuclear plant, does show a higher cancer risk for those located in the most contaminated parts. Outside these parts - even in locations inside Fukushima Prefecture - no observable increases in cancer incidence are expected."

In terms of specific cancers, for people in the most contaminated location, the estimated increased risks over what would normally be expected are:

• all solid cancers - around 4 percent in females exposed as infants;
• breast cancer - around 6 percent in females exposed as infants;
• leukaemia - around 7 percent in males exposed as infants;
• thyroid cancer - up to 70 percent in females exposed as infants (the normally expected risk of thyroid cancer in females over lifetime is 0.75 percent and the additional lifetime risk assessed for females exposed as infants in the most affected location is 0.50 percent).

For people in the second most contaminated location of Fukushima Prefecture, the estimated risks were half as high as the others.