Japan starts thyroid checkups for Fukushima children

Japan starts thyroid checkups for Fukushima children

2011-10-10 06:24:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- Japanese health workers have begun thyroid examinations for children in an effort to assess the health impact of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima plant, NHK Television reported on Sunday.

Health workers expect to test around 360,000 youths who were under 18 years old when the nuclear disaster happened. Their health will be monitored for their lifetime since the radioactive iodine released from the damaged nuclear plant could accumulate in children's thyroid glands, raising the possibility of cancer.

At least 150 children were checked on Sunday, and the results are expected to be mailed to them in about a month, NHK reported.

The prefectural government is planning to have all children from the region examined by 2014. After that, children will undergo a thyroid check every 2 years until they turn 20, and will be examined once every 5 years after that age.

Thyroid gland irregularities have been detected in a number of young children and teenagers evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture following its nuclear plant crisis. According to a study by the Japan Chernobyl Foundation, 10 out of 130 children evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture showed hormonal and other irregularities in their thyroid glands.

Japan has been facing an ongoing nuclear crisis since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged on March 11 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami devastated the country. The disaster disabled the cooling systems of the plant and radioactive elements leaked into the sea and were later found in water, air and food products in some parts of Japan.

At least 15,813 people were killed as a result of the earthquake and tsunami while 3,971 others remain missing. There are still more than 88,000 people who are staying in shelters in 21 prefectures around Japan.

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