Fukushima's Children are Dying

[Demeter]

28. Have a nice, big dose of reality, with your radiation, Baggins

http://atomicbombmuseum.org/3_health.shtml

Even now, after over half a century later, many aftereffects remain: leukemia,
A-bomb cataracts, and cancers of thyroid, breast, lungs, salivary glands, birth defects, including mental retardation, and fears of birth defects in their children, plus, of course, the disfiguring keloid scars.

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—Radiation injury penetrates deeply into human body and injures cells, and thus molecules, resulting in cell death, inhibited cell division, abnormalities of intracellular molecules and membranes.

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—Actively regenerating and proliferating cells are most sensitive to radiation, e.g., young blood cells, lymphocytes, spermatogonia (of testicles), follicle cells (of ovaries) are most sensitive; next are mucosal epithelial cells of the mouth, the esophagus, and stomach, and epithelial cells of the eye lens, and cells forming the hair bulb. (Note: epithelial tissues cover surfaces or line cavities, as well as perform various secreting, transporting, or regulatory functions.)

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By 1975 a total of 1,838 cases were diagnosed as leukemia in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of these, 512 were exposed within 10 km from ground zero. Incidence peaked in 1951-52 in both cities. THAT'S 28 YEARS LATER.


4. Cancers

Thyroid: first case reported in 1957. High incidence among females. Some cases first discovered by autopsy. THAT'S 10 YEARS AFTER

Breast: cases much higher among those exposed than in non-exposed. Exposure to 100 rads or more made risk 3.3 times that of those unexposed. Peak incidence was found higher among women ages 20-30.

Lung: First case noted in Hiroshima in 1954, with 37 cases in Nagasaki soon added. A 1972 large-scale survey revealed 3,778 lung cancers in 10,412 deaths, with correlation of high risks to high radiation dosage.

5. Chromosome changes

Chromosomes are present in constant numbers in the nuclei of cells, and can be seen as visible entities during cell division. The count in humans is a constant 46. Chromosome aberrations were first noted in exposed survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1960. Subsequent systematic surveys revealed a high frequency of aberrations in blood cells and lymphocytes in fetuses exposed to large radiation doses in utero (in the womb) or soon after birth.

Although chromosome aberrations increased with higher radiation doses, frequency of aberrations was consistently high at all dose ranges. As late as 1985, chromosomal aberrations in somatic (body) cells persisted among exposed survivors.

6. Exposure in utero and microcephaly

A Nagasaki survey of 98 pregnant women exposed at a distance of 2.0 km from ground zero and 113 pregnant women exposed at 4.0 and 5.0 km from ground zero, showed a high percentage of neonatal and infantile deaths for those exposed within a 2.0 km range, as well as signs of acute radiation illness such as loss of hair, bleeding tendency, and inner mouth lesions. Mental retardation was noted in 25% of newborn survivors.

Besides high mortality rates, retarded growth and development was also indicated. Most notable in those exposed within 1.0–5.0 km of ground zero were retarded stature, underweight, and smaller head circumference, a condition called microcephaly, one of the most pathetic aftereffects of the atomic bombings, especially when accompanied by mental retardation.

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7. Genetic surveys

Genetic surveys have not yielded positive evidence of genetic hazards due to atomic bomb radiation. Even so, possible A-bomb-induced effects such as spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, congenital malformations, and more, require continued study.