title: An overview of current knowledge concerning the health and environmental consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident.
abstract: Since 2011, the scientific community has worked to identify the exact transport and deposition patterns of radionuclides released from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in Japan. Nevertheless, there still remain many unknowns concerning the health and environmental impacts of these radionuclides. The present paper reviews the current understanding of the FDNPP accident with respect to interactions of the released radionuclides with the environment and impacts on human and non-human biota. Here, we scrutinize existing literature and combine and interpret observations and modeling assessments derived after Fukushima. Finally, we discuss the behavior and applications of radionuclides that might be used as tracers of environmental processes. This review focuses on (137)Cs and (131)I releases derived from Fukushima. Published estimates suggest total release amounts of 12-36.7PBq of (137)Cs and 150-160PBq of (131)I. Maximum estimated human mortality due to the Fukushima nuclear accident is 10,000 (due to all causes) and the maximum estimates for lifetime cancer mortality and morbidity are 1500 and 1800, respectively. Studies of plants and animals in the forests of Fukushima have recorded a range of physiological, developmental, morphological, and behavioral consequences of exposure to radioactivity. Some of the effects observed in the exposed populations include the following: hematological aberrations in Fukushima monkeys; genetic, developmental and morphological aberrations in a butterfly; declines in abundances of birds, butterflies and cicadas; aberrant growth forms in trees; and morphological abnormalities in aphids. These findings are discussed from the perspective of conservation biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, P.M.B 1022 Keffi, Nigeria; Department of Physics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Baru, Malaysia. Electronic address: abubakarsaliyu@nsuk.edu.ng.
authors.forename: Abubakar Sadiq
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Aliyu
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research (ATMOS), Kjeller, Norway.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Evangeliou
authors.affiliation: Environment and Sustainability Program, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States; Faculty of Biotechnology, Chubu University, Kasugai, Japan.
authors.forename: Timothy Alexander
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mousseau
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Junwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Baru, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ahmad Termizi
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Ramli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D007564:Japan; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants
keywords: Biota; Fukushima nuclear accident; Human health; Radioactive contamination; Radioecology; Source term