UN radiation report finds Fukushima caused no additional cancer risk

The nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant in Japan has not left any statistically detectable damage on the population, according to a new report by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).

The nuclear radiation from the accident has not increased the risk for cancer beyond normal, according to the report which was published on Tuesday, ahead of the ten-year anniversary of the catastrophe.

The scientists found that a rise in thyroid cancer among children in the last decade was not related to increased radiation, but due to more thorough analyses that had led to more cases being reported.

In other areas and countries without higher radioactive exposure better monitoring had also led to increased numbers of thyroid cancer, UNSCEAR said.

On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by a strong earthquake and a tsunami that killed around 18,500 people in total. The natural catastrophe also led to a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima atomic power plant, and the resulting radiation forced 160,000 residents to flee.

It was the worst nuclear catastrophe since the 1986 accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

“It is a catastrophe, but it is not a radiation catastrophe,” radiation biologist Anna Friedl, who represents UNSCEAR in Germany, told dpa.

Compared to Chernobyl, in Fukushima fewer radioactive substances were released and largely settled in the sea instead of on land. The Japanese population also consumed fewer contaminated foods, Friedl said.

UNSCEAR however said that despite the report’s findings, it does not mean that there is no cancer risk from the the accident at all.

Among around 170 rescue workers who were exposed to very high radiation two to three additional cancer cases were expected.

UNSCEAR said other factors such as stress, heart problems and other illnesses came about as a consequence of the evacuation.

The general risk for cancer in Japan lies at 35 per cent.