Fukushima Children Have Higher Chance Of Getting Cancer

Fukushima Children Have Higher Chance Of Getting Cancer

Infants that were present in Japan’s Fukushima area during the 2011 tsunami and nuclear power plant accident are said to have a higher lifetime risk of contracting some cancers, noted the World Health Organization.

In a huge risk assessment study, the World Health organization said that little girls are the most exposed with a 70 percent increase in the chances of getting thyroid cancer.

They also noted that the figure isn't as alarming as it seems as it is on top of a total lifetime risk increase of only 0.75 percent.

They also said the male children who were exposed to large doses of radiation (from 12 to 25 milisieverts) have a 7 percent risk increase of getting leukemia and that female infants have a 6 percent higher chance of contracting breast cancer at some point in their life.

For all types of cancer, infants have about a 4 percent increase in the chance they will contract cancer at some point in their lives.

The report also notes that about one in three emergency rescue workers who were at the scene when the incident happened have an increased cancer risk especially thyroid cancer.

The same report offered data on the numbers of people that were exposed to radiation and said that while the incident could have been a disaster, few people were actually hit with high doses of radiation after the explosion and leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday March 03 2013, 3:02 AM EST. Ref: ABC News. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0