Information on early internal radiation doses in Fukushima after the nuclear power plant accident on March 11, 2011, is quite limited due to initial organizational difficulties, high background radiation and contamination of radiation measuring devices. In Nagasaki, approximately 1,200 km away from Fukushima, the internal radioactivity in evacuees and short-term visitors to Fukushima has been measured by a whole body counter (WBC) since March 15, 2011. A horizontal bed-type scanning WBC equipped with two NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors was used for 173 people who stayed in the Fukushima prefecture between March 11 and April 10, 2011. The average length of stay was 4.8 days. The internal radioactivity was converted to an estimated amount of intake according to the scenario of acute inhalation, and then the committed effective dose and the thyroid dose were evaluated. 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs were detected in more than 30% of examined individuals. In subjects who stayed in Fukushima from March 12 to March 18, the detection rate was approximately 50% higher for each radionuclide and 44% higher for all three nuclides. The maximum committed effective dose and thyroid equivalent dose were 1 mSv and 20 mSv, respectively. Although the number of subjects and settlements in the study are limited, the results suggest that the internal radiation exposure in Fukushima due to the intake of radioactive materials shortly after the accident will probably not result in any deterministic or stochastic health effects.
How to translate text using browser tools
3 May 2013
Assessment of Internal Exposure Doses in Fukushima by a Whole Body Counter Within One Month after the Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Naoki Matsuda,
Atsushi Kumagai,
Akira Ohtsuru,
Naoko Morita,
Miwa Miura,
Masahiro Yoshida,
Takashi Kudo,
Noboru Takamura,
Shunichi Yamashita
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Radiation Research
Vol. 179 • No. 6
June 2013
Vol. 179 • No. 6
June 2013