title: Internal radiation exposure dose in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture after the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.
abstract: As a result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) on 11 March 2011, a huge amount of radionuclides, including radiocesium, was released and spread over a wide area of eastern Japan. Although three years have passed since the accident, residents around the FNPP are anxious about internal radiation exposure due to radiocesium. In this study, we screened internal radiation exposure doses in Iwaki city of Fukushima prefecture, using a whole-body counter. The first screening was conducted from October 2012 to February 2013, and the second screening was conducted from May to November 2013. Study participants were employees of ALPINE and their families who underwent examination. A total of 2,839 participants (1,366 men and 1,473 women, 1-86 years old) underwent the first screening, and 2,092 (1,022 men and 1,070 women, 1-86 years old) underwent the second screening. The results showed that 99% of subjects registered below 300 Bq per body in the first screening, and all subjects registered below 300 Bq per body in the second screening. The committed effective dose ranged from 0.01-0.06 mSv in the first screening and 0.01-0.02 mSv in the second screening. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to avoid unnecessary chronic internal exposure and to reduce anxiety among the residents by communicating radiation health risks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orita
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nukui
authors.affiliation: Department of Radioisotope Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Radioisotope Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Protection, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takamura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*