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NY TimesIn an effort to track the long-term health effects of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan has begun a long-term survey of local children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with exposure to radiation.
The study comes in response to concerns over the health consequences of the serious radiation leaks caused by multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March. Japanese officials hope to study about 360,000 children who were under 18 at the time of the accident and track their health through their lifetimes, according to Fukushima Prefecture officials.
Children and pregnant women are particularly sensitive to radioactive iodine, which can harm the thyroid, studies after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster have shown. According to research presented at a 2006 global conference, at least 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer among children have been linked to Chernobyl's fallout.
On Sunday, the first day of the Fukushima study, more than 100 children were tested. Specific test results will not be made public, according to Fukushima Prefecture. But the children, who will be tested every two years until they turn 20 and every five years after that, will receive further care if doctors discover abnormalities.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/world/asia/japan-studies-radiation-effects-on-children.html