Radiation experts advise Japan’s government to repopulate Fukushima

Radiation experts advise Japan’s government to repopulate Fukushima

On March 24, 2015, five of the world’s most esteemed experts on the biological effects of radiation spoke in Tokyo. The presentation was held in the First Diet Member’s Hall of Japan’s House of Representatives. The theme was “Scientific understanding of low-dose radiation in Fukushima and the issue of rehabilitation in the 20 km zone”. 270 legislators, industry leaders, a few members of the news media, Japanese Bureaucrats in charge of radiation regulations,and interested members of the public attended. The event was entitled SAMRAI 2014. (1)

In the program, scientific evidence was presented to show that the widespread belief of there being no safe level of radiation exposure is incorrect. Rather, a large body of scientific data shows there is a threshold exposure of harm which is many times higher than any possible doses that could be received by Fukushima evacuees if they were allowed to return home. In addition, the deaths caused by the chaotic evacuation of the 20km radius around Fukushima Daiichi on March 12, 2011 could have been avoided if scientific reasoning had been used to protect the public. All five speakers agreed that low-dose radiation levels of exposure in Fukushima pose no health risks to the public, thus full repopulation should be allowed as soon as possible. Further delay in repopulation will continue to worsen the existing confusion caused by rumor and misinformation both in Japan and the world at-large.

The five expert speakers were…

Jun Takada, PhD – Program Chairman; Professor at Sapporo Medical University

Mohan Doss, PhD, MCCPM – Associate Professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA

Sadao Hattori, PhD – Former Director of Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry

Hironobu Nakamura, MD, PhD – Professor Emeritus, Osaka University

Wade Allison, MA DPhil – Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford, England

The following topics were addressed…

(1) The latest scientific data on exposure levels in Fukushima’s 20 kilometer evacuation zone showing only harmlessly-low doses exist,

(2) Comparison of Fukushima levels to the much higher exposures caused by the 1986 Chernobyl accident,

(3) A science-based understanding of the actual biological effects of these low-dose exposures,

(4) The extreme, unscientific political actions inflicted on Fukushima’s population by the Japanese government,

(5) Measures for educating society in order to overcome the continuing unnecessary hardships caused by governmental restrictions on the evacuated public,

(6) The historical safety record of nuclear energy in comparison to other sources of electricity, and

(7) How the consequences following the F. Daiichi crisis can be avoided in the future through accident prevention and science-based evacuation policies.

Seven recommendations were made to the government of Japan, in the interest of supplanting the present state of public misunderstanding with correct scientific knowledge in order to end social confusion. They are…

(1) Inform the public that Fukushima’s population was exposed to low doses of radiation within which there is no health risk to people, both inside and outside Japan,

(2) Facilitate scientific presentations to the public that provide correct radiation information,

(3) Return radiation standards to those guidelines initially proposed by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan,

(4) Have realistic assessments made on exposures received by returning residents to their homes through the use of personal dosimeters,

(5) Recognize and support active attempts towards the return of the population, including an ongoing project for breeding cattle in Namie Town,

(6) Expedite recovery of infrastructure destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 inside the 20 km exclusion zone, and

(7) Restart Japanese nuclear plant as soon as possible once the new regulations have been satisfied.

The proceedings, including the full papers by each participant, will be published in the spring of 2015 in Japanese and English.

References:

1 – SAMRAI 2014: Conclusion and Recommendations; http://rpic.jp/topics/images/docs_00078_4.pdf