Saturday, July 20, 2013

(UPDATED with Numbers) Radioactive Cesium in Human Placenta After #Fukushima Nuke Accident Lower Than in Placentas During Atmospheric Testing and After Chernobyl, Japanese Researchers Say


(UPDATE at the bottom of the post)

Japanese researchers, including Dr. Makoto Suzuki, who went to Minamisoma City right after the March 11, 2011 disaster and the nuclear accident to help the local OB/GYN doctor Kyohei Takahashi care for pregnant women in the city and help deliver the babies, examined the placentas from 5 women within 50 kilometers from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and 5 women within 290 kilometers from the plant.

Their conclusion is that radioactive cesium concentration in the placentas from 10 women in Fukushima and eastern Japan who gave birth between October 2011 and August 2012 was much lower than in placentas in 1960s during atmospheric nuclear testing, and Italian placentas after the Chernorbyl accident in 1986.

From the abstract below, it is not known how many of the five placentas within 50 kilometers from the plant were from Minamisoma, if any. Much of Minamisoma City was designated by the national government as the area where pregnant women and children were not to supposed to live. But all the government did was to declare so, and there was no support whatsoever to the city or the residents. As the result, there were many pregnant women and children who remained.

Cities like Fukushima, Date, Koriyama, and others in Fukushima's Nakadori (middle third) were never evacuated, even though the levels of contamination turned out to be as much, if not more, than Minamisoma in Hamadori (ocean-third).

From Online Library at Wiley.com, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, Early View published online on July 2, 2013, Abstract:

Radioactive cesium (134Cs and 137Cs) content in human placenta after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

Makoto Suzuki 1,
Hiroshi Terada 2,
Nobuya Unno 3,
Ichiro Yamaguchi 2,
Naoki Kunugita 2,
Hisanori Minakami 4,*

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kameda General Hospital, Kamogawa, Chiba
2 Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health, Wako
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Kitasato University, Sagamihara
4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

Abstract

Aim

The degree of contamination with radioactive cesium (134Cs and 137Cs) in the human placenta after the accident at Fukushima nuclear power plant (FNP), which occurred on 11 March 2011, has not been assessed.

Material and Methods

134Cs and 137Cs contents were determined in 10 placentas from 10 women who gave birth to term singleton infants during the period between October 2011 and August 2012 using high-purity germanium detectors for gamma ray spectrometry. Five women resided within 50 km of FNP (neighbor group) and gave birth by the end of February 2012, while the other five women resided within 210–290 km of FNP (distant group) and gave birth in July and August 2012.

Results

All except one of the 10 placentas contained detectable levels of 134Cs and 137Cs, ranging 0.042–0.742 Bq/kg for 134Cs and 0.078–0.922 Bq/kg for 137Cs. One placenta from a woman living in Tokyo contained 0.109 Bq/kg 137Cs and no detectable level of 134Cs (<0.054 Bq/kg). 137Cs content was more than 0.2 Bq/kg in four and one placentas in the neighbor and distant groups, respectively. Conclusion Degree of contamination of the placenta with radioactive Cs was lower even in women who resided within 50 km of FNP compared to Japanese and Canadian placentas in the mid-1960s after repeated nuclear tests and in northern Italian placentas from 1986–1987 after the Chernobyl power plant accident.


Since I don't have access to the full paper, I do not know the numbers for the Japanese and Canadian placentas in mid 1960s and the Italian ones after the Chernobyl accident.

==================

(UPDATE 7/21/2013) The actual numbers in the paper, and comment from anon reader. Thank you.

The numbers are :
location | 134Cs Bq/kg | 137Cs Bq/kg | 40K Bq/K
Minami-soma | 0.742 | 0.922 | 46.5
Iwaki | 0.549 | 0.648 | 59.3
Iwaki | 0.090 | 0.207 | 46.9
Iwaki | 0.268 | 0.302 | 51.9
Iwaki | 0.373 | 0.563 | 50.5
Mobara | 0.462 | 0.694 | 47.6
Kamogawa | 0.064 | 0.121 | 49.5
Tokyo | <0.054 | 0.109 | 49.8 Yotsukaido |0.042 | 0.078 | 50.9 Tateyama | 0.061 | 0.093 | 52.1


Hiroshima 1966-1970 | --- | 1.3 | ---
137Cs in food intake had 1.1 Bq/kg

Bolognia jun,1986 | --- | 4.2 | ---
Bolognia mar,1987 | --- | 11.5 | ---
Bolognia sep,1987 | --- | 6.6 | ---
137Cs in food intake had 15Bq/kg

Conclusion is mother contamination with Cs is equal to placenta contamination. Placenta is not a barrier for Cs.

Then they say that CS in placenta and food intake correlate. Based on whole body count results from Minamisoma (previously published by gov) Cs content ranged from 2.3-196.5 Bq/kg. Thus the study authors conclude that the mother participating in this study from Minamisoma did take care with food (meaning eat food from non-contaminated areas) since here placenta only had 0.9 137Cs Bq/kg . The authors finished with the statement that it is not part of this study to check for birth defects or other health effects in the babies (another study should do that).

My comment, as the study about Sr in baby teeth has indicated, it is more important where your food comes from than exactly where you are living. As the saying says: You are what you eat.


His last comment dovetails with the observation by one of the medical researchers I follow, Dr. Masahiro Kami. Dr. Kami has been working closely with doctors and researchers in Fukushima Prefecture, particularly in Soma City. I was struck by his recent tweets (here and here) about internal radiation exposure among residents in Hamadori, ocean-third of Fukushima Prefecture:

ここまでは、浜通りの内部被曝対策は、極めてうまくいっています。科学的理由から避難する必要はありません。ただ、一部の高齢者で野生動物なみの内部被曝を認めます。長期的な対策が必要です。

So far, countermeasures against internal radiation exposure in Hamadori has been a steller success. There is no scientific reason to evacuate from there. However, we find internal radiation exposure in some old residents at the level of wild animals. We need long-term countermeasures [against internal radiation exposure].

福島の内部被曝は、住民の懸命な努力で抑えられているだけです。さらに専門家も地道に努力しています。例えば、相馬市玉野地区には、東京農大が常駐し、食品管理をサポートしています。油断すれば、内部被曝は悪化するでしょう。チェルノブイリで内部被曝が最大になったのは、事故後12年目です。

Internal radiation exposure in Fukushima Prefecture is reduced only because of great effort by the residents. Experts are also making steady effort. For example, Tokyo University of Agriculture has a permanent base in Tamano District of Soma City to support the management of food. If we let our guard down, internal radiation exposure will worsen. It was 12 years after the nuclear accident when internal radiation exposure was at its worst in Chernobyl.


Well, there may not be "scientific" reason to evacuate, but living in an environment where you have to watch every morsel for radiation exposure seems highly stressful. There is also a question of why the reason to evacuate should be "scientific".

24 comments:

netudiant said...

Surprising.
It is not unreasonable that the Italian samples were more contaminated, Chernobyl spewed a tremendous plume that left expansive deposits all over Europe.
Canada is less understandable, the country is well north of the US Nevada test site and the old Soviet test site in Novaya Zemlya is half a world away.
Maybe the Canadian nuclear program was messier than thus far recognized?

Anonymous said...

The crime is that they even have to test for fallout ending up in humans then sit straight faced when comparing to past and present readings and reach a bogus idiosyncratic conclusion.

To sum it up in short: We rolled the dice and won, now we are going to continue to do it again.

VyseLegendaire said...

Now I feel safe relocating my family to a crippled nuclear power plant disaster zone!

Anonymous said...

nice find admin

They are playiing games.. though i would like to see their methodology.. so much for the new transparency the nuclear lobby promised us..

"..Hiroshima and Nagasaki, exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation in utero during weeks 8–15 or 16–25 post-ovulation, exhibited later signs of impaired cognitive function. Radia
tion-induced developmental effects would be expected in humans or animals exposed to similar levels of ionizing radiation from any
ionizing radiation source, including a radiocesium source. Resulting adverse health effects would be due to the external, penetrating gamma radiation, not cesium per se ..."

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp157.pdf
Page 15

Also why did they not give breast milk test results as the cesium that was ingested at that early stage would go there (how much cesium did people eat?? they were all on bottled water and dry noodles?? hmm?)

The largest effect was from the external ionising radiation imo
the internal would come later as people started ingesting some of the 50 percent (UNSCEAR`s own figures 2013) contaminated foodstuffs (not including the stuff the exported to Kraft usa etc)
anonymouse :)

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Breast milk tests have been done by other entities including government entities. If I remember right, there was no significant difference between Fukushima and other regions.

Anonymous said...

Vyse, I understand your sentiment, but the study probably isn't claiming that sort of things. None of the experts who are considered by many to be "pro-nuke" aren't saying that either. And those who only want to hear about bad news simply ignore this.

Anonymous said...

arevamirpal::laprimavera
you are right of course.. likely because of the precautions that pregnant women made in their diet.. but these studies need to be done every six months to garner any useful daya imo

There was the issue that fukushima didnt have so much cesium but what about other radionuclides such as Pb 210 etc and their toxic effects? so many isotopes left out of this narrow study

cant wait till someone posts the whole above report on the web somewhere... ;)
or will this be just for the insurance industry eyes only in mitigating their substantial future costs.. or i may just be getting cynical in me old age..

probably best to sell shares in the insurance industry while the going is good imo :)
hope all is well with you
anonymouse

Anonymous said...

So levels in placenta are lower than those of atmospheric testing and Chernobyl? Compare Fukushima to two other contamination events and if it's lower than those two, it's good? What about not contaminating pregnant women with radioactive materials? Wouldn't that be "good"?

Anonymous said...

Pb 210 is a natural radioactive isotope, it would be there independently of Fukushima. And Italy wasn't specially contaminated compared to Austria or the Scandinavian countries, not to talk about Belarus or Ukraine: http://www.unscear.org/docs/JfigXI.pdf

Anonymous said...

Pb 210 is a natural radioactive isotope .. that also comes from radon that comes from... nuclear reactors.. the UK drinking water standards went over the limit in Pblead after the nuclear accident at the Budapest Medical Isotope Institute August - November 2011.. It contaminated birds (found in 2012)

it turns out certain hot spots developed in northern italy from chernobyl not marked on that averaged map and the wildlife is par cooked.. 600 bq/kg in a boar that was actually measured after 26 years.. imagine what it was like when they werent measuring it?? blimey!
anonymouse

Anonymous said...

Radon is a natural radioactive isotope too, what are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

stop reading japan today for technical advice :)
The japanese "Science Media Centre " stopped producing "quality" science ardticles after march 2012.. in fact they didnt bother to even do a report for 2012. Might be something to do with Thyroid cancers..

as an aside zenon 133 was GREATER than chernobyl release and is also a danger to health.. but it would fly through the placenta..
heres evidence to "what are you talking about?"

"Radioactive noble gases are also found in the atmospheres of nuclear reactor power facilities and nuclear reactor fuel reprocessing facilities. These gases generally consist of a number of isotopes of krypton and xenon and range in half-life from seconds to years. Many of the krypton and xenon isotopes which have short half-lives have radioactive daughter elements having relatively long half-lives. In a boiling water reactor, the fission gases which have entered the water in the reactor, either by diffusion through the fuel cladding or through breaks in the cladding, are released at the exit of the turbine condenser. These gases are normally discharged to the atmosphere after a short delay time. In the pressurized water reactor, the gases are removed in the coolant loop and are stored for periods up to months to eliminate the short-lived gases by radioactive decay. In each case, the quantity of fission gas eventually released to the atmosphere depends upon the condition of the reactor fuel, and emissions could be increased greatly in the event of an accident such as a <<<<<<<<<<< fuel meltdown.<<<<<<<<

Emissions from liquid-metal-cooled reactors, breeder reactors, and high-temperature-gas-cooled reactors will arise from the same general source but will vary as to nature and quantity from those emanating from light-water reactors. "

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3829551.html

anonymouse

Anonymous said...

How is anything of that related to radon?

Anonymous said...

Of course what the report doesnt say is what is happening on the ground..

TEPCO worker’s Mum, Mrs. Setsuko Kida, a candidate of Greens Japan Party reports radiation related deaths before and after the Daichi nuclear disaster

*Daughter of her friend has been suffering from blood in urine and nose bleeding. Lots of report of deformed babies, no brain babies, One baby she saw had only one eye. It’s so painful to talk about them all. There is no report on premature death in the main media.

*Her son told her that his co-worker heard an alarm before Tsunami came. That alarm meant that there was dangerous level of ionizing radiation that leaked from the pipes after they got damaged by the big earthquakes.

http://nuclear-news.net/2013/07/21/tepco-workers-mum-mrs-setsuko-kida-a-candidate-of-greens-japan-party-reports-radiation-related-deaths-before-and-after-the-daichi-nuclear-disaster/

Anonymous said...

They measured 10 placentas coming from somewhere in Fukushima and one (1) from Tokyo...? a tiny sample huh? and anyways, is the datum relevant? are there studies showing that if placentas do not have too much Cs kids are healthy?

It would be more interesting to start looking at stats on the health of the newborns, all of them if possible. Also, someone was suggesting to collect hair and teeth of the kids to verify any contamination from Sr.

Beppe

Anonymous said...

The numbers are :
location | 134Cs Bq/kg | 137Cs Bq/kg | 40K Bq/K
Minami-soma | 0.742 | 0.922 | 46.5
Iwaki | 0.549 | 0.648 | 59.3
Iwaki | 0.090 | 0.207 | 46.9
Iwaki | 0.268 | 0.302 | 51.9
Iwaki | 0.373 | 0.563 | 50.5
Mobara | 0.462 | 0.694 | 47.6
Kamogawa | 0.064 | 0.121 | 49.5
Tokyo | <0.054 | 0.109 | 49.8
Yotsukaido |0.042 | 0.078 | 50.9
Tateyama | 0.061 | 0.093 | 52.1

Hiroshima 1966-1970 | --- | 1.3 | ---
137Cs in food intake had 1.1 Bq/kg

Bolognia jun,1986 | --- | 4.2 | ---
Bolognia mar,1987 | --- | 11.5 | ---
Bolognia sep,1987 | --- | 6.6 | ---
137Cs in food intake had 15Bq/kg

Conclusion is mother contamination with Cs is equal to placenta contamination. Placenta is not a barrier for Cs.

Then they say that CS in placenta and food intake correlate. Based on whole body count results from Minamisoma (previously published by gov) Cs content ranged from 2.3-196.5 Bq/kg. Thus the study authors conclude that the mother participating in this study from Minamisoma did take care with food (meaning eat food from non-contaminated areas) since here placenta only had 0.9 137Cs Bq/kg . The authors finished with the statement that it is not part of this study to check for birth defects or other health effects in the babies (another study should do that).

My comment, as the study about Sr in baby teeth has indicated, it is more important where your food comes from than exactly where you are living. As the saying says: You are what you eat.

Anonymous said...

How is anything of that related to radon?...

Radon becomes lead and radon comes from radium 226 as well as many other under-reported isotopes .. why is it relevant? because lead causes miscarriages etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3YMa391qrE
anonymose

Anonymous said...

Radium 226 is also a natural radioactive isotope. And lead is toxic, but that's unrelated to radiation.

Anonymous said...

Radium 226 is also a natural radioactive isotope. And lead is toxic, but that's unrelated to radiation....

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2013-07-03 13:39

Berkeley Radiological Air and Water Monitoring Forum


The radium 226 has almost as much activity as the radioactive Cesium in the sample. Radium 226 is a degradation product of uranium and we can’t really detect the uranium directly. Uranium has such a long half-life, it doesn’t really show up on the gamma detector. That’s why the uranium that was created when the earth was created billions of years ago is still around. But one of these daughter products, – one of the things it degraded into is radium 226, which is much more intensely radioactive than the original uranium. And this tells me that this particle contains not only fission waste products from the reactor but very likely contains a concentrated unburned nuclear fuel. And that’s unusual. This sample had by far the highest level of uranium daughters that we’ve seen in a dust or soil sample. We’re actually seeing material that might well have come from inside a failed fuel assembly.


http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/forum/218/any-clue-brawm.2013-07-03
anonymouse

Anonymous said...

Initial findings on emmissions from sellafield and La hague mox processing that recieved a cash injection at the beginning of the "nuclear renaisance" in 2006, then began industrial operations moving mox waste to different countries..

A 20 percent year on year increase in misscarriage at a london hospital

Shocking findings on effects of MOX processes on miscarriage and respiratory illness in the UK (Repost)

“…Placing the actual national numbers gleaned from the vaccine/miscarriage study of 2009 against the Watford Hospital, the national figures for pollutant caused miscarriage might be in the tens of thousands, at the very least, if you looked at these figures as representative nationally, this too will effect countries adjacent to the UK…”

http://nuclear-news.net/2013/05/04/shocking-findings-on-effects-of-mox-processes-on-miscarriage-and-respiratory-illness-in-the-uk-repost/

JAnonymous said...

Now if people could stop mixing natural and man-made activity, it would be great. If something doesn't kill you, it doesn't mean that we should keep doing it (or that it makes you stronger).

I hope nobody debates that radiation is hazardous ? In that case, if you can choose between radiation and less radiation, what are you going to do ? The main problem is when people have no choice : Radon in the environment, can't afford more expensive untainted food, etc...

I hear people saying that low levels of radiation might be mostly harmless. Okay, join the scientific bandwagon, ask for cash and go experiment by yourself, as claimed in Nature:
http://www.nature.com/news/fukushima-offers-real-time-ecolab-1.13395

Anonymous said...

Like anything anyone says isn't bullshit.

There's a simple solution to all the potential dangers and concerns over radiation and nuclear plants - don't fucking use them.

Anonymous said...

This makes zero sense. How could you have massive increase in Thyroid cancer and radiation induced diabetes yet babies in utero impervious. Absurdity in the extreme. Only brain injured and the nuclearcrat cabul would believe these supposed research findings.

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