Massive criticism of UN cancer study on Fukushima

UN report on Fukushima in criticism

04/03/2014

According to UN estimates, the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan three years ago did not increase the cancer risk for the population. The UN report is being sharply criticized. Experts speak of trivialization and cover-ups and doctors even call the study „untrustworthy“.

Increased risk of thyroid cancer
The nuclear disaster three years ago in Fukushima, Japan, did not increase the cancer risk to the population. This is the assessment of the United Nations Committee on the Effects of Radiation (UNSCEAR). They also do not see the spike in thyroid cancer in children as a result of the radiation released. A total of 75 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in screenings of 250,000 children and adolescents. The report states that the increased rate of cysts, nodules and cancer cases „because of the high efficiency of the examination method“ would have been expected. At the same time, it is acknowledged that „An increased risk especially for thyroid cancer in infants and children can be assumed.“

Sharp criticism since the announcement of the report
In addition, the personnel involved in the rescue and clean-up operations are expected to be at increased risk for cancer. By contrast, the report sees virtually no risk for the majority of the Japanese population, even in the prefectures around the ruptured nuclear reactors. The final report, presented in Geneva last week, states: „The estimated effective radiation dose from the accident can be compared to the effects of radiation from natural sources.“ According to UN figures, the rapid evacuation of the region around the damaged nuclear power plant in March 2011 was decisive for the benign outcome of the disaster. The report has been criticized since its announcement.

Study talks dangers small
Greenpeace nuclear expert Heinz Smital sees no reason for the all-clear and speaks of cover-up. „The study talks the dangers small“, so the environmentalists opposite „German wave“ (DW). For example, the evacuations were partly too late and, in addition, areas outside the originally evacuated 20-kilometer radius had been heavily loaded. These zones were only cleared a month later. „This is so long that people have got the full dose of radioactive iodine 131“, so the expert.

Nuclear expert speaks of belittlement
According to the UN experts, the radiation dose in Japan was only a fraction compared to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. Smital speaks in this context of triviality in dealing with the people of Japan. He said that the Russian government had followed much stricter international guidelines. These were respected in Russia beyond the guidelines, but in Japan people lived, including pregnant women and families with children in areas of high radiation exposure. The nuclear expert is outraged: „The whole thing is now legitimized by the UN report, which says there are no health consequences.“

Scientifically dubious study
The International Physicians Organization for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) speaks of a „scientifically dubious“ Study. The data on which they are based came from the atomic operator company Tepco, the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA in Vienna and the Japanese nuclear authorities. The risks would be „hushed up, downplayed and concealed“. In the case of thyroid cancer, the incidence rate increased from 0.35 cases per 100,000 children to 13.0, which is almost a forty-fourfold increase. The medical organization estimates that there will be tens of thousands more cancer cases in Japan.

Number of stillbirths increased by 13 percent
Smital also criticizes the methodology used to calculate the likelihood of cancer in the UN study. He too speaks of belittlement: „The conclusions reached go in the direction of a downplaying presentation.“ For a more objective assessment, data from physicians, hospitals and deaths would need to be systematically evaluated and published. But these data remained under lock and key in Japan. There is even a secrecy law in this regard. The Japanese publicist Fukumoto Masao told the daily „New Germany“, that the Japanese government does not publish all the data, in particular those concerning radioactivity contamination. The measured values ​​of official measuring points are always lower than if you measure them yourself. The publicist suspects manipulations. According to his research in the most affected prefectures, the number of stillbirths increased by about 13 percent.

People in Japan also suffer psychologically and socially
The UN scientists at least concede that the people of Japan suffer psychologically and socially from evacuation or stigmatization. The influence of unhappiness on health is not limited to the radiation consequences. The report also recalls that 50 hospital patients had died during the clearance of the area. According to the „taz“ said the president of the Society for Radiation Protection, Sebastian Pflugbeil, it was „foolhardy“, just three years after the disaster to give the all-clear. (Sb)