Dataset Information

Distribution of artificial radionuclides in abandoned cattle in the evacuation zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

ABSTRACT: The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident released large amounts of radioactive substances into the environment. In order to provide basic information for biokinetics of radionuclides and for dose assessment of internal exposure brought by the FNPP accident, we determined the activity concentration of radionuclides in the organs of 79 cattle within a 20-km radius around the FNPP. In all the specimens examined, deposition of Cesium-134 ((134)Cs, half-life: 2.065 y) and (137)Cs (30.07 y) was observed. Furthermore, organ-specific deposition of radionuclides with relatively short half-lives was detected, such as silver-110m ((110m)Ag, 249.8 d) in the liver and tellurium-129m ((129m)Te, 33.6 d) in the kidney. Regression analysis showed a linear correlation between the radiocesium activity concentration in whole peripheral blood (PB) and that in each organ. The resulting slopes were organ dependent with the maximum value of 21.3 being obtained for skeletal muscles (R(2)?=?0.83, standard error (SE)?=?0.76). Thus, the activity concentration of (134) Cs and (137)Cs in an organ can be estimated from that in PB. The level of radioactive cesium in the organs of fetus and infants were 1.19-fold (R(2)?=?0.62, SE?=?0.12), and 1.51-fold (R(2)?=?0.70, SE?=?0.09) higher than that of the corresponding maternal organ, respectively. Furthermore, radiocesium activity concentration in organs was found to be dependent on the feeding conditions and the geographic location of the cattle. This study is the first to reveal the detailed systemic distribution of radionuclides in cattle attributed to the FNPP accident.

SUBMITTER: Fukuda T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3553152 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Distribution of artificial radionuclides in abandoned cattle in the evacuation zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Fukuda Tomokazu T Kino Yasushi Y Abe Yasuyuki Y Yamashiro Hideaki H Kuwahara Yoshikazu Y Nihei Hidekazu H Sano Yosuke Y Irisawa Ayumi A Shimura Tsutomu T Fukumoto Motoi M Shinoda Hisashi H Obata Yuichi Y Saigusa Shin S Sekine Tsutomu T Isogai Emiko E Fukumoto Manabu M

PloS one 20130123 1

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident released large amounts of radioactive substances into the environment. In order to provide basic information for biokinetics of radionuclides and for dose assessment of internal exposure brought by the FNPP accident, we determined the activity concentration of radionuclides in the organs of 79 cattle within a 20-km radius around the FNPP. In all the specimens examined, deposition of Cesium-134 ((134)Cs, half-life: 2.065 y) and (137)Cs (30 ...[more]

PMID: 23372703

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Project description:BackgroundFollowing the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has continued to affect the mental health status of residents in the evacuation zone. To examine the mental health status of evacuee after the nuclear accident, we conducted the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey as part of the ongoing Fukushima Health Management Survey.MethodsWe measured mental health status using the Kessler 6-item psychological distress scale (K6) in a total of 73,569 (response rate: 40.7%) evacuees aged 15 and over who lived in the evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture. We then dichotomized responders using a 12/13 cutoff on the K6, and compared the proportion of K6 scores ≥13 and ≤12 in each risk factor including demographic information, socioeconomic variables, and disaster-related variables. We also performed bivariate analyses between mental health status and possible risk factors using the chi-square test. Furthermore, we performed multivariate regression analysis using modified Poisson regression models.ResultsThe median K6 score was 5 (interquartile range: 1-10). The number of psychological distress was 8,717 (14.6%). We found that significant differences in the prevalence of psychological distress by almost all survey items, including disaster-related risk factors, most of which were also associated with increased Prevalence ratios (PRs). Additionally, we found that psychological distress in each evacuation zone was significantly positively associated with the radiation levels in their environment (r = 0.768, p = 0.002).ConclusionThe earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident likely caused severe psychological distress among residents in the evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture. The close association between psychological distress and the radiation levels shows that the nuclear accident seriously influenced the mental health of the residents, which might be exacerbated by increased risk perception. To provide prompt and appropriate support, continued psychosocial intervention for evacuees is strongly recommended.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in 2011, residents of Kawauchi village who experienced evacuation had a high risk of suffering from diabetes and metabolic syndrome compared with non-evacuees. In addition to evacuation, lifestyle characteristics can be important factors influencing the development and prognosis of diabetes or glucose tolerance. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of evacuation (i.e., lifestyle changes) on the incidence of diabetes among the non-diabetic residents of Kawauchi village. METHODS:Design is retrospective cohort study. Annual health examination data of residents of Kawauchi village and control area (Ono town) in Fukushima prefecture from 2008 to 2017, as available from the Japanese National Health Insurance system. Participants were classified into three groups: "Diabetes (DM)" (FBG ? 126?mg/dL or HbA1c ? 6.5% or hospital visit for DM or usage of diabetic medication), "Borderline DM" (126?mg/dL > FBG ? 110?mg/dL or 6.5% > HbA1c ? 6.0%, and without hospital visit, and without diabetic medication), and "Normoglycemic" (FBG < 110?mg/dL and HbA1c < 6.0%, and without hospital visit, and without diabetic medication). New onset of diabetes was evaluated and the events or missing data were occurred at health checkup. For this survival analysis, 339 residents in Kawauchi and 598 residents in Ono were included. Average follow-up periods after 2010 were 3.9?years in Kawauchi village and 3.6?years in Ono town. RESULTS:Compared with the normoglycemic group, incidence of DM was much greater in the borderline DM group, where DM occurred among 38.2% of the group in 2012 and increased to over 60% cumulatively through 2017 in Kawauchi village. DM had a prevalence of 16.3% in 2012, and below 30% in 2017 in borderline DM group of Ono town. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was applied to non-DM groups at both study sites separately to evaluate the effects of lifestyle changes at each site. While BMI, BMI change, and the lack of regular exercise (HR = 1.29, 1.72, and 5.04, respectively) showed significant associations with the onset of diabetes in Ono town, only BMI and late-night dinner (HR = 1.21 and 4.86, respectively) showed significant associations with diabetes onset in Kawauchi village. CONCLUSIONS:The current results confirmed that diabetes incidence was increased 6?years after the Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Kawauchi. We also found changes in lifestyle habits, suggesting that diabetes prevention with promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors is an urgent priority.

Project description:Background: As a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, many residents evacuated and were exposed to changes in their living environment and socioeconomic status, and to persistent stressors. Past studies have suggested the potential for these circumstances to contribute to long-term changes to population health.Objective: The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of long-term health effects of evacuation, by evaluating the risk of non-communicable diseases among evacuees from Minamisoma City (one of the closest municipalities to the power plant) until 2017.Methods: The study evaluated data from annual health check-ups for residents aged 40-74 years covered by National Health Insurance (who are largely self-employed) from 2010 to 2017 administered by Minamisoma City. Diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension were defined from the results of blood sampling. Annual changes in age-adjusted prevalence were estimated by evacuation scenario. We also performed an inverse-probability weighting (IPW) analysis to adjust for baseline covariates in 2010 and estimated the differences in the risk of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension by evacuation scenario as of the 2017 health check-up in reference to the no-evacuation group.Results: A total of 1,837 individuals were considered in this study. Regardless of evacuation scenario, there was statistical evidence suggesting an upward and a downward trend in diabetes and hypertension from 2010 to 2017, respectively, while hyperlipidemia showed no remarkable change. IPW analyses demonstrated that disease risks in 2017 did not differ significantly among people with different evacuation scenarios.Conclusions: Region-specific factors played an important role in the health effects of the evacuation. Our findings have important implications for the need of an assessment of the health effects of evacuations in more localized manner. Further research in this area will strengthen the communities' preparedness for future disasters that require mass evacuation.

Dataset Information

Distribution of artificial radionuclides in abandoned cattle in the evacuation zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Publications

Distribution of artificial radionuclides in abandoned cattle in the evacuation zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

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