Overview: effects of radiation on the human body: acute and chronic sequelae in hematopoietic organs

Excerpt

The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident occurred slightly more than 6 months ago in Japan. Approximately 770,000 terabecquerel of radioactive materials, including I¹³¹, I¹³⁴, Cs¹³⁴ and Cs¹³⁷ were released following explosions at NPP, resulting the internal or external exposure to low-dose radiation in approximately two million Fukushima residents at accumulated annual doses ranging from less than 1.0 to 50 mSv. Air dose was reported to be highest during the first 2 weeks after the explosions. Human exposure to declining dose of radiation continues to occur as of the end of September 2011. General health examinations and estimates of total exposure dose for each resident, including several hundred thousand children, have been conducted since July. Preliminary results suggest that none of the subjects assessed were exposed to high doses, and that the thyroid exposure to radioactive iodine was below the governmental regulatory dose in 900 children tested. …