» UN report: radiation dose of Fukushima daiichi workers estimated 20% lower

2013/10/13

According to a recently released report by a U.N. panel, Japanese government may have underestimated by 20 percent the radiation doses workers received in the initial phase of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant accident.

The U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation said in a summary report released on its website that the Japanese government and TEPCO may have underestimated radiation doses of the workers as tests used failed to take into account some types of radiation.

The report said the committee analyzed the radiation doses of some 25,000 people who worked at the Fukushima Daiichi plant on or before October 2012, using data provided by the government and TEPCO.

The committee noted that workers were tested for thyroid gland doses for radioactive iodine after a significant delay, with no account taken of “the potential contribution from intakes of shorter-lived isotopes of iodine, in particular iodine 133,” which have a short half-life of 20 hours. “As a result, the assessed doses from internal exposure could have been underestimated by about 20 percent.”, said in the report.

If the estimates of the U.N. committee were accurate, more Fukushima plant workers would be eligible for free health checks provided by the government and TEPCO..
The United Nation Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

<Media Report>
Radiation estimates for No. 1 workers likely 20% too low: U.N.(Japan Times)

U.N. panel doubts radiation dose estimates among Fukushima workers(Asahi newspaper)

Radiation estimates for Fukushima workers may be too low: U.N. report (Mainichi Newspaper)

Tags:health, japanese government, news, outside experts, plant workers, radiation dose, radiation exposure, TEPCO, thyroid cancer

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