Amount of Radioactive Cesium in Urine Increased in a Boy Who Remained in Fukushima

From Jiji Tsushin (9/7/2011):

市民団体「福島老朽原発を考える会」などは７日、尿検査で放射性セシウムが検出された福島市などの子ども１０人を２カ月後に再調査したところ、他県に避難しなかった１人で数値が減少せず、微増したと発表した。

A citizen's group (福島老朽原発を考える会) announced the result of the second testing of the 10 children in Fukushima City and other locations whose urine had been tested 2 months earlier. In one child who did not evacuate from Fukushima, the amount of radioactive cesium didn't decrease but increased slightly.

　同会などは５月、フランスの放射線計測機関に依頼して６～１６歳の男女１０人の尿を検査し、全員からセシウムを検出。７月末に再調査した結果、県外に避難した９人は数値が下がったり、検出されなくなったりしたが、福島市に残った１６歳の少年はセシウム１３７が１リットル当たり０．７８ベクレルから同０．８７ベクレルに増えたという。

In May, the group asked a French laboratory to test the urine samples from 10 children from 6 to 16 years old. Radioactive cesium was detected from all samples. In the second test conducted at the end of July, the amount was lower, or in some cases not detected, in 9 children who evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture. However, from the urine sample of a 16-year-old boy who remained in Fukushima City, cesium-137 increased from 0.78 becquerels/liter in May to 0.87 becquerels/liter.

France's ACRO, who did the testing, has more details and harsh words for the Japanese government (emphasis is original):

Comments :

At the request of Japanese citizens, ACRO analyzed the urine of 18 Japanese children from the prefecture of Fukushima and from Tokyo and its surroundings.

All the 15 children from Fukushima have or had their urine contaminated with radioactive fallout from the nuclear accident located approximately 60 km away. This means that children themselves have been or are contaminated. However, we did not detect any contamination in the urine of the three children from Tokyo and surroundings.

While the tests performed by the Japanese authorities give about one child from Fukushima out two that is contaminated, we get 100%. This reflects the fact that the official measurements are not accurate enough and did not detect all contaminations.

The first 10 children are the same as in our previous measurement campaign (results released June 30). 9 of them have left the province of Fukushima since. Only one remained (U2).
U6 child was evacuated in end of March. U3 and U4 children were evacuated in the end of May. 3 left late June, early July and three others at the beginning of the school holidays from July 22.

Finally, five new children live nearby Fukushima-city. One of them was evacuated in the middle of May (U14).

U11 and U12 attend the same high school where they frequently practice sports on the same playground. The difference in the contamination could be due to food.

More than four months after the massive discharges of radioactivity into the environment, all children still in Fukushima at the time of urine sampling were contaminated, although their parents do their best to reduce this contamination. Evacuation is a way to reduce contamination. Variations in internal contamination between different children might be due to food.

It is important to conduct an accurate, systematic and regular monitoring of internal contamination of children from Fukushima. Families must have access to the measurement of radioactivity to help them reduce this contamination.

(H/T 44de256)

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