1.7 Millisievert External Radiation in One Month for 3rd Grader in Fukushima City: "Will Not Affect Health" Says City Official

Japan's new normal in radiation exposure is getting ridiculous almost every day, particularly in Fukushima Prefecture.

Fukushima City announced the result of the readings of the glass badges worn by children and pregnant women in the city for the month of September, and the highest reading was 1.7 millisievert external radiation exposure in one month for a 3rd-grader in an elementary school. Her two brothers were also found with high radiation reading off their badges.

The city says, "That level of radiation does not affect health".

1.7 millisievert per month x 12 months = 20.4 millisieverts per year of EXTRA external radiation on top of the natural (pre-Fukushima) external radiation (Japan average) of 0.59 millisievert per year, and EXTRA internal radiation from inhaling and ingesting Fukushima-origin radioactive materials on top of natural internal radiation exposure of 0.86 millisievert per year.

The current (soon to be revised, supposedly) provisional safety limits for food for various radionuclides are designed to add up to 17 millisieverts per year radiation if one eats food that tests at the maximum upper limit of the provisional safety limits.

Well, by now we know that the Japanese officials truly think that "it does not affect health" as long as one dies of acute radiation poisoning.

From Mainichi Shinbun (11/1/2011):

福島市は１日、妊婦や子供ら３万６９８９人に配布した個人線量計（ガラスバッジ）で９月に測定した被ばく線量を公表した。１カ月の線量は小学３年女児の１．７ミリシーベルトが最大で、女児の兄弟３人も１．４～１．６ミリシーベルトだった。自宅近くに高線量スポットがあり、県外に転居したという。市の担当者は「健康に影響を与える数値ではない」と話している。

On November 1, Fukushima City disclosed the result of the readings for the month of September from the glass badges distributed to 36,989 children and pregnant women in the city. The maximum reading was 1.7 millisievert from a girl in the 3rd grade of an elementary school. Her three brothers also tested between 1.4 and 1.6 millisievert. There is a high radiation "hot spot" near their house, and they have since moved out of Fukushima. The city official says "It is not the level that affects health."

　市は３万６４７８人から個人線量計を回収して分析。他に１ミリシーベルトを超えた人はなく、０．１ミリシーベルト未満１６％▽０．１ミリシーベルト６４％▽０．２ミリシーベルト１７％▽０．３ミリシーベルト２％－－で０．３ミリシーベルト以下が９９％を占めた。０．４ミリシーベルト１０５人 ▽０．５ミリシーベルト２５人▽０．６ミリシーベルト６人▽０．９ミリシーベルト１人－－だった。

The city had the glass badges collected from 36,478 people and had them analyzed. [Aside from the girl and her brothers] there was no one whose radiation exposure exceeded 1 millisievert. The result [excluding the 4 children] was:

Less than 0.1 millisievert: 16%
0.1 millisievert: 64%
0.2 millisievert: 17%
0.3 millisievert: 2%
0.4 millisievert: 105 people [0.29%]
0.5 millisievert: 25 people
0.6 millisievert: 6 people
0.9 millisievert: 1 person

　市は１０～１１月の積算線量も測定中で、今回を含めた３カ月間の結果を基に影響を評価する。

The city continues the monitoring in October and November, and will evaluate the radiation effect after 3 months worth of data are collected.

Why bother "evaluate"? It sure looks like a foregone conclusion that "there is no effect on health", probably up to 100 millisieverts per year...

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