Health late effects due to radioactive radiation

Health: Late effects due to radioactive radiation feared

16/03/2011

For the first time, the Japanese government admits that the damaging nuclear power plant in Fukushima poses a significant threat to health. The atomic Gau, so the biggest accident of a nuclear reactor, is already a bitter reality. The international INES value, the value that measures the damage caused by a nuclear accident, has since been increased from four to six. The country is now on the threshold of a so-called Supergau, where the other consequences are no longer manageable. What could that mean for the health of people in Japan??

Reactors are increasingly out of control
According to recent reports, the situation of the Fukushima nuclear power plant is getting more and more out of control. After four explosions and several fires, four of the six reactors in Fukushima have been severely damaged. According to the Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the inner protective cover of a reactor is probably damaged for the first time. There are apparently two holes eight square meters in size on the shell of the reactor. In two other reactors, according to government information, the systems for cooling also failed. The country is facing an atomic disaster of unprecedented proportions.

Reactors should be cooled from the outside
Almost helpless now seem the current attempts to cool the damaged reactors from the outside. First, this morning in Japanese time, they had tried to take over the cooling with the help of helicopters. However, since the temporary high radiation levels were hazardous to health for the crews, the action was stopped after a short time. Now, police water cannons should provide for external cooling. Whether this attempt succeeds, is so far open.

Gau or Supergau?
Almost exactly 25 years after Chernobyl, a renewed super-GAU is feared. The supergain occurs when there are no more options to bring the situation under control. For a short while, it looked like the last remaining 50 workers and engineers were removed from the crisis area. After a short while, the volunteers remain in the control center of the facility. The protection zone has been extended from 10 to 20 and now to 30 kilometers. However, the people - who are still in the vicinity of the accident still reside on far-reaching health problems. Because once radioactive substances enter the body, they can cause severe cancer even after decades. The workers in the defective reactor are temporarily exposed to high radiation exposure. Nevertheless, they try everything to avert a Supergau still. In Japan, one speaks already in this context of „heroes“, because employees are exposed to extreme health hazards to protect the population from nuclear pollution.

High radiation doses already measured
The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA announced today that radiation doses of up to 400 millisieverts per hour have already been measured near the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Even a dose of 100 millisievert is enough to cause serious cancer as a long-term consequence. In addition, radioactive cesium-137 and iodine-131 were measured in the surrounding air of the reactors. These substances are no less dangerous and can spread in the air over much of the country. If the winds are unfavorable, the capital Tokyo can also be affected by fallout. At the moment, however, it looks as if the particles will be driven to the sea.

Limited means of protection against radioactivity
For the people of Japan, there are few opportunities to protect against the nuclear threat. The authorities are therefore limited to informing the population not to leave their homes, to turn off the air conditioning and to wear a mask. But since respiratory protection can hardly prevent volatile radioactive substances, at least this protective measure is less effective. In addition, the Japanese government distributes iodine tablets. These are supposed to protect people from radioactive iodine 131. The effect is also limited here and protects only against a possible thyroid cancer disease as a long-term consequence. In addition, the medicines must be taken in advance in order to flood the body with iodine, so that excess, contaminated iodine is excreted again. For the first time, practical advice on how to protect oneself from the approaching radiation contamination is given on Japanese TV. Because the radioactive types of radiation can have far-reaching health consequences for the population. People in Germany should, however, by no means take iodine tablets as a preventive measure, as hyperthyroidism can be triggered. Moreover, from a medical and scientific point of view, there are currently no indicators that could justify such an intake.

Is a far-reaching meltdown in progress?
It is still unclear whether a meltdown has taken place on a larger scale. The nuclear plant operator TEPCO says that a meltdown was only partial. In order to cool the hot rods, seawater should now be used from the outside as cooling. A meltdown is so dangerous because, in addition to cesium-137 and iodine-131, uranium, plutonium, and other fission products such as krypton or strontium can escape through this process. According to the Federal Ministry for Radiation Protection, however, little or insufficient measurements were carried out in Japan in order to be able to provide specific information about a release of the substances. However, the measurements taken indicate that the reactor core was obviously damaged. Currently, authorities, government information and the operating company in this aspect contradict each other, so that hardly any clear information can be made.

Great health hazard due to cesium-137 and iodine-131
If cesium-137, iodine-131, uranium, plutonium and other fission products are actually released into the environment in high doses, this would be the greatest health hazard for humans. For animals and humans absorb these substances by inhaling the contaminated air into the organism. In particular, when people are in the vicinity of the nuclear reactor, there is a very high risk of developing blood cancer or thyroid cancer. The consequences are usually not visible at first glance and can still occur decades after the absorption of the radioactive particles. In addition, the radioactive substance cesium-137 has a high half-life of 30 years. This means that only after 30 years does half the radiation dose decrease. If there is a contamination, there are no medical ways to initiate a successful therapy to alleviate the damage to the body. Cesium spreads mainly in the muscle tissue and in the nerve cells. In doing so, the processes between the cell interior and the cell environment are significantly damaged.

Radiation disease threatens the engineers in Fukushima
Another danger is the radiation itself. If a person is contaminated within a few minutes or hours with a radiation value of 400 to 500 millisieverts, the dreaded radiation sickness occurs. The patients then suffer from severe headaches, anemia and severe cell deterioration. Whether a patient survives such radiation exposure depends largely on the duration and intensity of the radiation. The longer and the higher the radiation dose, the lower the chances of survival.

Are the people in Europe at risk??
How the situation in Japan develops, remains to be seen. One thing, however, already seems certain: The environment of the flooding nuclear power plant Fukushima will last for years if not decades uninhabitable. A danger for the German and / or European population is excluded in the opinion of numerous expert opinions at present, since contrary to then in Chernobyl, so far no strong fires occurred. In addition, the distance of around 7000 kilometers is too large to be considered as an actual danger. But the situation is different in the eastern part of Russia. Here, the Russian government has already put the army on alert to initiate possible evacuations, if actually a Supergau occurs. (sb, gb)

Read on this topic:
What meltdown or super-GAU mean?
Radioactive Radiation: Health Effects
Nationwide actions planned for the nuclear phase-out
Doctors demand shutdown of all nuclear power plants

Joujou