Nuclear Plant Accident Research Articles

Post-Chernobyl incidence of papillary thyroid cancer among Belgian children less than 15 years of age in April 1986: a 30-year surgical experience

Objective: We raised the question of a possible relationship in Belgium between the occurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and age of children (<15 years) at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in April 1986.Setting: Referral university centre for endocrine surgery.Material and methods: Thirty-year prospective study of the experience of a surgical team with PTC since the Chernobyl accident, taken out of 2349 patients operated on for any thyroid lesions from April 1986 to April 2015, comparing the incidence of PTC by age groups.Main outcome measurement: Comparison of PTC incidence in patients >15 years (group A) and children <15 years (group B) in April 1986.Results: Out of a total of 2349 patients having undergone thyroid surgery for all types of lesions during 30 year after Chernobyl and born before April 1986, 2164 were >15 years of age at the time of the nuclear accident (group A) and 175 developed PTC (8.1%) compared to 36 PTC (19.5%) that occurred in 185 children <15 years of age (group B) in April 1986 (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Radiation exposure affected residents of countries (including Belgium) well beyond Ukraine and Belarus. This was demonstrated by a 1990 meteorological report. Over 30 years, there has been a persistent higher incidence of PTC among Belgian children below the age of 15 years at the time of the Chernobyl accident. This relationship with age has even been strengthened by the implementation of more sophisticated immunohistochemical biomarkers diagnostic technology since April 2011.

Potential environmental impact of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident

&#x0D; Background and Purpose: The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor incident in Japan resulted in the release of large quantities of radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean through deposition from the atmosphere and liquid discharges from the nuclear facility. Public misconceptions and the scarcity of radiation monitoring along the west coast of Canada have create doubt within the population regarding the safety of the ocean. A radiation survey along some of Vancouver’s beaches was completed to determine whether radioactivity from Fukushima has reached our local shores. Methods: Radiation surveys were conducted at three different locations; Sunset, Spanish Banks and Jericho Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia. Gamma radiation levels were measured using both the Radeye, GR 135 Plus EXPLORANIUM survey meters. At each beach, 30 samples of water, sand and various different artifacts including algae, stones and logs were each surveying. If the radiation detected exceed 0.05μSv/Hr the identification function of the GR 135 Plus EXPLORANIUM would be used to determine if it was from natural or artificial sources. The radiation levels were compared to the expected normal background levels (between 0.05μSv/Hr- 1.0 μSv/Hr) as well as to observed if there was any sufficient differences between the mediums under investigation. Results: The radiation levels along all three beaches did not exceed normal background levels (between 0.05μSv/Hr- 1.0 μSv/Hr). Furthermore, characteristic radionuclides released from this incident, specifically Cesium 134 and Cesium 134, were not detected. There was no sufficient difference between the radiation levels observed from the sand, water and different artifacts (logs, stones, and algae) Conclusion: It was concluded that the radiation levels along the beaches, Jericho, Spanish Banks and Sunset Beach do not present an additional risk to the public visiting this area as a result of this incident.&#x0D;

Reinforced silica monoliths functionalised with metal hexacyanoferrates for cesium decontamination: a combination of a one-pot procedure and skeleton calcination

Procedure describes the synthesis of silica monoliths functionalised with metal hexacyanoferrate (MHCF) using a high internal phase emulsion template. The materials exhibit excellent Cs ion sorption properties.

Binding, fractionation, and distribution of Cs, Co, and Sr in a US coastal soil under saturated and field capacity moisture regimes

Purpose The concerns of the public on safe handling of nuclear energy power facilities have increased due to the recent nuclear plant accidents in Japan and others. Cesium, cobalt, and strontium are a few of the major radionuclides released from nuclear power plant accidents. The objectives of this study are to investigate binding, distribution, fractionation, and transformation of cesium (Cs), cobalt (Co), and strontium (Sr) in a US coastal soil under saturated paste (SP) and field capacity (FC) moisture regimes.

From Chernobyl to Fukushima: an interdisciplinary framework for managing and communicating food security risks after nuclear plant accidents

This comparison of government disaster management and public communications after the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents seeks to create a framework for disaster management that enhances food resilience (the ability of food systems to withstand perturbations that could cause disruption of food supply); and in the specific case of nuclear disasters, the avoidance of contaminated food and provision of alternative foods. This paper integrates food security, emergency management, and risk communications perspectives. Misinformation and incomplete information can bias decision-making and political actions. When risk communication is inadequate, the public reacts with fear, mistrust, panic and stress. People have difficulty deciding what they can safely eat and what they should not eat. Many choose to reject all food from affected regions, which can compromise food security. Lack of proper information may lead to such extremes in behavior as avoidance of dairy products and consumption of untested foods, which may in fact have high levels of radioactivity. The measures taken by the USSR after the Chernobyl disaster lacked consistency and clarity and were not effective in providing food security for the affected people. The government also demonstrated a lack of attention to social justice in its dealings with people who moved back to the contaminated area, ignoring government policy that they should stay out. Those people still suffer from food insecurity. In Japan, food that met government safety levels was available, but many consumers nonetheless questioned the safety of food supplies and farmers often were confused about production and marketing. In both the Chernobyl and Fukushima cases, the evacuation of affected people was aimed at reducing exposure to radiation and did not sufficiently consider neither the psychological and physical health impacts of resettlement nor the security and safety of food supplies. Government responses would have been more effective in some regions if a timely distribution program of adequate, safe alternative foods (especially radioprotectors) from non-affected areas had been initiated.

Consumers' willingness to pay for renewable and nuclear energy: A comparative analysis between the US and Japan

This paper examines consumers' willingness to pay for nuclear and renewable electricity as two alternatives to fossil fuels for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We conduct a choice experiment of consumer-stated preferences on the basis of an online survey in four US states and Japan after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. First, the results suggest that US consumers' willingness to pay for a 1% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is $0.31 per month, which is similar to the results for the US a decade ago. Japanese consumers show a slightly lower willingness to pay of $0.26 per month. Second, the average consumer in both countries expresses a negative preference for increases in nuclear power in the fuel mix (to a greater extent in Japan). Third, renewable energy sources were endorsed by both US and Japanese consumers, who show a willingness to pay $0.71 and $0.31 per month for a 1% increase in the use of renewable source energy. This study also examines the differences in respondents' characteristics. Approximately 60% of the US respondents who did not change their perception concerning the use of nuclear energy subsequent to the Fukushima nuclear crisis have almost no preference for variation in nuclear power, which is in stark contrast to the Japanese respondents' opposition to nuclear energy.

Chronic restraint-induced stress has little modifying effect on radiation hematopoietic toxicity in mice.

Both radiation and stresses cause detrimental effects on humans. Besides possible health effects resulting directly from radiation exposure, the nuclear plant accident is a cause of social psychological stresses. A recent study showed that chronic restraint-induced stresses (CRIS) attenuated Trp53 functions and increased carcinogenesis susceptibility of Trp53-heterozygous mice to total-body X-irradiation (TBXI), having a big impact on the academic world and a sensational effect on the public, especially the residents living in radioactively contaminated areas. It is important to investigate the possible modification effects from CRIS on radiation-induced health consequences in Trp53 wild-type (Trp53wt) animals. Prior to a carcinogenesis study, effects of TBXI on the hematopoietic system under CRIS were investigated in terms of hematological abnormality in the peripheral blood and residual damage in the bone marrow erythrocytes using a mouse restraint model. Five-week-old male Trp53wt C57BL/6J mice were restrained 6 h per day for 28 consecutive days, and TBXI (4 Gy) was given on the 8th day. Results showed that CRIS alone induced a marked decrease in the red blood cell (RBC) and the white blood cell (WBC) count, while TBXI caused significantly lower counts of RBCs, WBCs and blood platelets, and a lower concentration of hemoglobin regardless of CRIS. CRIS alone did not show any significant effect on erythrocyte proliferation and on induction of micronucleated erythrocytes, whereas TBXI markedly inhibited erythrocyte proliferation and induced a significant increase in the incidences of micronucleated erythrocytes, regardless of CRIS. These findings suggest that CRIS does not have a significant impact on radiation-induced detrimental effects on the hematopoietic system in Trp53wt mice.

What response in the face of health emergencies?

Heat wave, extreme cold, air pollution, epidemics, nuclear plant accidents, production incidents in the pharmaceutical or agro-food sectors, bioterrorism, social movements: over the last thirty years, health emergencies have multiplied. What is the strategy to adopt?

Expert Assessment on Agri-Food Implications of March 2011 Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Accident in Japan

The March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant accident have had immense impacts on Japanese agri-food sector. Previous analysis has demonstrated that some of the impacts that triple disaster are difficult to identify and assess due to the insufficient information, controversial data, continuing challenges and uncertainties, etc. In order to expend the assessments we have organized two expert assessments in order to identify the 2011 disasters’ short and longer terms impacts on agriculture, food industries and consumers as well as factors for persistence of negative impacts, and longer-term impacts on major resources, productions, organisations, efficiency, etc. in the most affected regions and the rest of Japan. This paper presents the results of the experts’ assessments on socio-economic impacts of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster on the Japanese agriculture and food sector. Nearly four years after the triple disaster, it gives some tentative assessment on the diverse (specific, combined, short-term, long-term, functional) impacts of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident on agriculture, food industries, and food consumption in different regions of the country.

森林・木材の汚染実態と長期モニタリングの必要性

森林・木材の汚染実態と長期モニタリングの必要性

Depression, suicide ideation, and thyroid tumors among ukrainian adolescents exposed as children to chernobyl radiation.

BackgroundThe Chernobyl Childhood Illness Program (CCIP) was a humanitarian assistance effort funded by the United States Congress. Its purpose was to assist the Ukrainian Government to identify and treat adolescents who developed mental and physical problems following their exposure as young children to Chernobyl radiation. Thirteen years after the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986, the CCIP examined 116,655 Ukrainian adolescents for thyroid diseases. Of these, 115,191 were also screened for depression, suicide ideation, and psychological problems. The adolescents lived in five of Ukraine’s seven most Chernobyl radiation contaminated provinces. They were up to 6 years of age or in utero when exposed to nuclear fallout, or were born up to 45 months after Chernobyl.MethodsUkrainian endocrinologist and ultrasonographers used physical examination and ultrasonography of the neck to evaluate the adolescents for thyroid tumors. The adolescents were then screened for depression by the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). After this, Ukrainian psychologists conducted individual psychological interviews to corroborate the adolescents’ CDI responses.ResultsPapillary thyroid carcinoma was diagnosed in eight adolescents, a high prevalence rate similar to that reported by other studies from the Soviet Union. Screening identified thyroid nodules in 1,967 adolescents (1.7%). Depression was diagnosed in 15,399 adolescents (13.2%), suicide ideation in 813 (5.3%), and attempted suicide in 354 (2.3%). Underlying components of the participants’ depression were negative mood, interpersonal difficulties, negative self-esteem, ineffectiveness, and anhedonia. Depression was greater in females (77%). Those with thyroid and psychological problems were referred for treatment.ConclusionsThe adolescents screened by CCIP represent the largest Ukrainian cohort exposed to Chernobyl radiation as children who were evaluated for both thyroid tumors and depression. The group had an increased prevalence of thyroid cancer, thyroid tumors, depression, and suicide ideation. CCIP demonstrated that psychological problems among Chernobyl exposed adolescents began earlier in life than previously reported. They also experienced socioeconomic problems from their relocation from radiation-affected areas and from the Soviet’s inadequate responses to their health needs. CCIP’s findings underscore the requirement that governments prepare plans to deal promptly with the diagnosis and treatment of nuclear accident victims’ medical and psychological problems.

Impact of natural disaster combined with nuclear power plant accidents on local medical services: a case study of Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

To elucidate the impacts of nuclear plant accidents on neighboring medical centers, we investigated the operations of our hospital within the first 10 days of the Great East Japan Earthquake followed by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Data were extracted from medical records and hospital administrative records covering 11 to 20 March 2011. Factual information on the disaster was obtained from public access media. A total of 622 outpatients and 241 inpatients were treated. Outpatients included 43 injured, 6 with cardiopulmonary arrest, and 573 with chronic diseases. Among the 241 inpatients, 5 died, 137 were discharged, and the other 99 were transferred to other hospitals. No communication methods or medical or food supplies were available for 4 days after the earthquake. Hospital directors allowed employees to leave the hospital on day 4. All 39 temporary workers were evacuated immediately, and 71 of 239 full-time employees remained. These employees handled extra tasks besides patient care and patient transfer to other hospitals. Committed effective doses indicating the magnitude of health risks due to an intake of radioactive cesium into the human body were found to be minimal according to internal radiation exposure screening carried out from July to August 2011. After the disaster, hospitals located within the evacuation zone of a 30-km radius of the nuclear power plant were isolated. Maintenance of the health care system in such an event becomes difficult.

Speciation of radioactive soil particles in the Fukushima contaminated area by IP autoradiography and microanalyses.

Radioactive soil particles several tens of micrometers in size were collected from litter soil in the radiation contaminated area by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident and characterized using electron and X-ray microanalyses. The radioactive particles were discriminated by autoradiography using imaging plates (IP) on which microgrids were formed by laser ablation in order to find the particles under microscopy. Fifty radioactive particles were identified and classified into three types from their morphology and chemical composition, namely: (1) aggregates of clay minerals, (2) organic matter containing clay mineral particulates, and (3) weathered biotite originating from local granite. With respect to the second type, dissolution of the organic matter did not reduce the radiation, suggesting that the radionuclides were also fixed by the clay minerals. The weathered biotite grains have a plate-like shape with well-developed cleavages inside the grains, and kaolin group minerals and goethite filling the cleavage spaces. The reduction of the radiation intensity was measured before and after the trimming of the plate edges using a focused ion beam (FIB), to examine whether radioactive cesium primarily sorbed at frayed edges. The radiation was attenuated in proportion to the volume decrease by the edge trimming, implying that radioactive cesium was sorbed uniformly in the porous weathered biotite.

Distribution and retention of Cs radioisotopes in soil affected by Fukushima nuclear plant accident

There was a large release of radio-cesium (134Cs and 137Cs) to the atmosphere during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, and contaminated the soil, over a vast area, due to fallout activity. Therefore, studies on the behaviour of radio-cesium especially migration in soil and its retention on soil particles is very important for external dose assessment and root uptake. We have determined the sorption coefficient (K d) for Cs using the laboratory batch method in soil samples collected from a contaminated area affected by the FDNPP accident, and the effect of various soil parameters on the K d value has been studied. We have noticed that Cs sorption is mostly influenced by cation exchange process and Cs is sorbed on the surface of clay particles. From vertical depth profile of Cs in soil, it is found that most of it is retained on the top layer within a 5-cm thickness. Sequential extraction of soil using various reagents may be helpful to understand better the mechanism of Cs retention.

Determination of atmospheric radiocesium on filter tapes used at automated SPM monitoring stations for estimation of transport pathways of radionuclides from Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

Suspended particulate matters (SPM) collected hourly at that time of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant accident in 2011 on a filter tape at many automated SPM monitoring stations located widely in eastern Japan was analyzed in order to determine atmospheric radiocesium concentration. Precise time series of 137Cs concentrations in wide areas of eastern Japan were revealed. Analysis of radioactivity of SPM collected on filter tapes by automated SPM monitoring stations even at 1–2 years after the accident is concluded to give very valuable information to resolve the matter of radioactive contamination by Fukushima accident.

Changes in SATOYAMA in Yamakiya, Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture and decoupling between human and nature by nuclear plant accident

Changes in SATOYAMA in Yamakiya, Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture and decoupling between human and nature by nuclear plant accident

つくば市の降水に含まれる福島第一原発由来のトリチウム、ヨウ素-129の変遷

つくば市の降水に含まれる福島第一原発由来のトリチウム、ヨウ素-129の変遷

Risk perception for the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident: An Analysis from the Behavioral Immune System Hypothesis

Risk perception for the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident: An Analysis from the Behavioral Immune System Hypothesis

Current state and future perspectives for the psychological problems caused by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident

Current state and future perspectives for the psychological problems caused by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident

Use of TRACE best estimate code to analyze spent fuel storage pools safety

Nuclear policies have experienced an important change since Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident and the safety of spent fuels has been in the spot issue among all the safety concerns. At many countries, the spent fuel of nuclear power plants is not reprocessed so it has to be stored inside the facilities, normally in pools. As nuclear power plants use best estimate codes to perform safety analysis, it is interesting to assess the capacity of such codes to simulate spent fuel pools behavior. This paper uses TRACE thermal-hydraulic code to simulate steady state and transient conditions of spent fuel pools. The steady state results are compared with plant measurements of Maine Yankee with a good agreement between the calculations and the measurements. The transient simulated is a loss of cooling together with a loss of coolant through the transfer channel. TRACE heat transfer radiation model has been activated using the parameters obtained from COBRA thermal-hydraulic code.