A 2015 WHO study found that people who believed they would face immediate, delayed or genetic radiation risks had an increased amount of psychological stress following the Fukushima accident. “The government prints the number of people who died as a result of the 2011 disaster in the newspapers every day. To get lung cancer from the isotopes and concentrations, released under a nuclear accident, is as impossible as it gets, because the isotopes does not build up in the lungs, but get absorbed to the blood stream almost right away, so the lungs does not receive any high dose of radiation,. With the lifetime risk increase for thyroid cancer, due to the accident, for a female infant, in the most affected radiation location, being estimated to be one half of one percent [0.5%]. In the published estimates shown, studies have utilised a methodology termed the ‘linear no-threshold model’ (LNT); this model is typically applied in assessments of radiation risk and in setting regulatory limits for environmental protection. In its initial Health Risk Assessment of the nuclear disaster – published in 2013 – the World Health Organization (WHO) note exposure levels too low to affect human health for the national population, with exception to a few communities in closest proximity.7 The follow-up WHO Report published five years on – in 2015 – suggests very low risk of increased cancer deaths in Japan.8 In a review of the response and long-term health impacts of Fukushima, published by Michael Reich and Aya Goto (2015) in journal The Lancet, the authors note that: “no one has died from radiation exposure, and the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation report in 2013 stated that substantial changes in future cancer statistics attributed to radiation exposure are not expected to be observed”.9,10. [58] 45 patients were reported dead after the evacuation of a hospital in Futaba due to lack of food, water and medical care as evacuation was delayed by three days. Cardis et al. Ten months after the earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident, perinatal mortality in 6 severely contaminated prefectures jumped up from January 2012 onward: jump odds ratio 1.156; 95% confidence interval (1.061, 1.259), P-value 0.0009. Average annual exposure in the region from naturally occurring sources is about 2.1 mSv, and average lifetime exposure is 170 mSv (Chapter II A(2) paragraph 29). In more recent evaluations of rates of perinatal mortality (that is, stillbirths or deaths within the first week of life) in areas closest to the Fukushima site, there were no statistical indications of increased incidence.11 In fact, rates of perinatal mortality showed an overall decline with time—the general trend we see through improved healthcare and healthier lifestyles. (2015). The Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe has changed the landscape of the region. ", Nuclear power in Japan, section Seismicity, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster_casualties&oldid=991714681, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles containing potentially dated statements from February 2017, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2016, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2017, Articles containing potentially dated statements from September 2011, Articles containing potentially dated statements from July 2011, Articles containing potentially dated statements from September 2012, Wikipedia external links cleanup from September 2016, Wikipedia spam cleanup from September 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 December 2020, at 13:03. This blog post draws on data and research discussed in our entry on Energy. But most of the radioactivity was dumped in the Pacific – only 19 percent of the released material was deposited over land – keeping the exposed population relatively small. [58], The wind measurably increased the radiation levels up to 100 miles away from the disaster site. Rationale: The health vulnerability of certain populations such as children, the elderly and individuals with illnesses or physical disability can become significant in disasters. [39], Experts estimate the total amount of radioactivity released into the atmosphere was approximately one-tenth as much as was released during the Chernobyl disaster. According to the Mainichi report, 1,599 of … Given the uncertain health effects of low-dose radiation, cancer deaths cannot be ruled out. All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. Fairlie and Sumner (2006). [81][82], Another cause of death is the increased number of suicides due to mental stress, despair, anxiety and depression caused by media coverage, and through long periods of evacuation. [55] No increase in these effects are therefore expected in or around the Fukushima power plants. [55] As no radiation induced inherited effects/heritable effects, nor teratogenic effects, have ever been definitely demonstrated in humans, with studies on the health of children conceived by cancer survivors who received radiotherapy, and the children of the Hibakusha, not finding a definitive increase in inherited disease or congenital abnormalities. Available online. From a technical perspective, the nuclear reactors at Chernobyl were poorly designed to deal with such a scenario. Help us do this work by making a donation. (2015). Aim: To clarify the suicide rates in evacuation areas after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, which occurred in March 2011. That is the level at which relocation would be considered in the US, and it is a level that could cause roughly one extra cancer case in 500 young adults. Deaths from Fukushima In the case of Fukushima, although 40 to 50 people experienced physical injury or radiation burns at the nuclear facility, the number of direct deaths from the incident are quoted to be zero. Part of this difficulty lies in the methodology used to estimate long-term deaths from low-level radiation exposure. The abandoned city of Pripyat with the Chernobyl plant in the distance. These results are consistent with findings in For long-term displacement, many people (mostly sick and elderly) died at an increased rate[17] while in temporary housing and shelters. UNSCEAR 2008 Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes. It was in this prefecture that waves from the tsunami overpowered a nuclear power … Available online at: https://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/a_e/fukushima/faqs-fukushima/en/. There were slight increases in areas with moderate levels of contamination and no increases in the rest of Japan. About 0.7% of the workforce received doses of more than 100 mSv (Chapter II A(b) paragraph 35). [88], Satellite image on 16 March 2011 of the four damaged reactor buildings, F. Tanabe, Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 2011, volume 48, issue 8, pages 1135 to 1139, Mangano, Joseph (2004), "Three Mile Island: Health study meltdown", Bulletin of the atomic scientists, 60(5), pp.31-35 "In Dauphin County, where the Three Mile Island plant is located, the 1979 death rate among infants under one year represented a 28 percent increase over that of 1978, and among infants under one month, the death rate increased by 54 percent. Chernobyl and Fukushima are the only two disasters to receive a level 7 (the maximum classification) on the International Nuclear Event Scale. In its 2005/06 assessment ‘Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts’ the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that the total number of long-term deaths will be around 4,000.2, However, this figure is related only to the proximate populations of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus which were exposed to high radiation levels; if extended to estimates of those exposed to low-level radiation across the region, this number rises to 9000.3, Other studies have suggested higher figures. Fukushima is the name that everyone remembers from that disaster eight years ago. Available online. [11] A May 2012 United Nations committee report stated that none of the six Fukushima workers who had died since the tsunami had died from radiation exposure. the acute impacts); the second being the long-term (chronic) impacts of radiation exposure, which has known links to the incidence of several forms of cancer. However, the application of the LNT model is widely contested: since it has no lower threshold, this model suggests that even very low dosages of radiation increase cancer risk. Estimates of the total … "[57], A Japanese Research Company was assigned to find out the health effects and casualties caused by the disaster. The death toll of the Fukushima nuclear accident dominated headlines for weeks after the event and overshadowed the much larger tragedy that happened at the same time and place: the Tsunami killed 15,893 people, more than 25 times the number from the nuclear accident. When it comes to the safety of nuclear energy, discussion often quickly turns towards the nuclear accidents at Chernobyl in Ukraine (1986) and Fukushima in Japan (2011). Towards long-term responses in Fukushima. 154,000: People evacuated from Fukushima due to the radiation concerns. The selection of particular methodologies used to carry out such assessments are strongly contested. In the hours and days that followed, Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced full meltdown. [75], Finally, there has been a widely critiqued paper published by members of the controversial Radiation and Public Health Project which attempts to ascribe the natural annual cycle of rising and falling adult and infant mortality rates in the United States to Fukushima fallout, suggesting about 14,000 have died. A study in the International Journal of Cancer by Cardis et al. However, the LNT method remains strongly contested, and is assumed to provide a conservative estimate of potential mortality [we have provided a short discussion on the LNT model and its implications in the technical notes at the end of this post]. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故, Fukushima Dai-ichi (pronunciation) genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko) was a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. For comparison, the average dose from an abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan, with and without contrast, is 20 to 30 mSv. [26] One worker is postulated to have died from lung cancer as a radiation induced illness in a Japanese court and the family has got compensation on that ruling. Natural radiation levels are higher in some part of the world than the projected level mentioned above, and about 4 people out of 10 can be expected to develop cancer without exposure to radiation. Of the 459 620 residents of the Fukushima Prefecture not employed at the power plant and for whom an external dose was estimated, 285 418 people (or 62.1% of those assessed) received, over the course of the first four months following the accident, external doses of less than 1 mSv and 15 people (0.003% of those assessed) received doses greater than 15 mSv. The site is on Japan’s Pacific coast, in northeastern Fukushima prefecture about 100 km (60 miles) south of Sendai. Given this information, as well as basic knowledge of the risks of radiation, residents would not feel unnecessary anxiety. ", "Increases in perinatal mortality in prefectures contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan: A spatially stratified longitudinal study", Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission Report website in English, Executive summary of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission Report, Fukushima report: Key points in nuclear disaster report, Webcam Fukushima nuclear power plant I, Unit 1 through Unit 4, Investigation Committee on the accidents at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Schematic drawing of Unit 1 reactor building, JAIF Information update, Japan Atomic International Forum, TerraFly Timeline Aerial Imagery of Fukushima Nuclear Reactor after 2011 Tsunami and Earthquake, Documentary photographs: residential damage within "No Go" Zone, PreventionWeb Japan: 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, "What should we learn from the severe accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant? [27] However this is based on law and not science. In 2018, the Japanese government reported that one worker has since died from lung cancer as a result of exposure from the event. Radioactive iodine, which can lead to increased risk of thyroid cancer if absorbed into the body, was released into the air along with other fission products. [23] "Disaster-related deaths" are deaths attributed to disasters and are not caused by direct physical trauma, but does not distinguish between people displaced by the nuclear disaster compared to the earthquake / tsunami. [15][16] For evacuation, the estimated number of deaths during and immediately after transit range from 34 to "greater than 50". Japanese officials initially assessed the accident as Level 4 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) despite the views of other international agencies that it should be higher. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima Prefecture. No accepted consensus on the LNT methodology has been reached amongst governmental, scientific and regulatory bodies. Please consult our full legal disclaimer. The chart here reflects a range of published estimates on the number of deaths resultant from the Chernobyl disaster. However, the governmental response to both events is also likely to have played a crucial role in the number of people who were exposed to high levels of radiation in the days which followed. From 2012, Special Decontamination Areas were introduced across a 20-kilometer radius surrounding the accident. [65][66] Further, the radiation exposure resulting from the accident for most people living in Fukushima is so small compared to background radiation that it may be impossible to find statistically significant evidence of increases in cancer. Approximately 160,000 people were evacuated from their homes following Fukushima, and there have been social and health conseque… Tokyo officials temporarily recommended that tap water should not be used to prepare food for infants. [55] A thyroid ultrasound screening programme is currently[2013] ongoing in the entire Fukushima prefecture, this screening programme is, due to the screening effect, likely to lead to an increase in the incidence of thyroid disease due to early detection of non-symptomatic disease cases. Around 18,500 people died or disappeared in the … In fact, it took at least three days for the Soviet Union to admit an accident had taken place, and did so after radioactive sensors at a Swedish plant were triggered from dispersing radionuclides. The latest report from Fukushima revealed that more people have died from stress-related illnesses and other maladies after the disaster than from injuries directly linked to the disaster. The death was the second at Fukushima Daiichi in less than a year, but the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), insisted that it was doing everything possible to … Their bodies were decontaminated as radiation has been spewing from the plant for three weeks. As the pumps stopped, the reactors overheated due to the normal high radioactive decay heat produced in the first few days after nuclear reactor shutdown (smaller amounts of this heat normally continue to be released for years, but are not enough to cause fuel melting). "The two workers, aged 21 and 24, sustained multiple external injuries and were believed to have died from blood loss, TEPCO said. The Fukushima nuclear accident as a part of a triple disaster was unprecedented in its scale and nature. [22], According to a June 2012 Stanford University study by John Ten Hoeve and Mark Z. Jacobson, based on linear no-threshold (LNT) model, the radioactivity released could cause 130 deaths from cancer (the lower bound for the estimator being 15 and the upper bound 1100) and 180 cancer cases (the lower bound being 24 and the upper bound 1800), mostly in Japan. Cancer deaths due to accumulated radiation exposures cannot be ruled out, and according to one expert, might be in the order of 100 cases. [42][43] In May 2012, TEPCO reported that at least 900 PBq had been released "into the atmosphere in March, 2011 alone. These 50 employees remained on-site after 750 other workers were evacuated. All three cores largely melted in the first three days. The disaster killed around 18,000 and left a further 300,000 people evacuated from the Fukushima area on the east coast with a clean-up expected … Stress-induced deaths affected mostly older people; more than 90 percent of mortality occurred in individuals over the age of 66. 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