Whole-body counter surveys of Miharu-town school children for four consecutive years after the Fukushima NPP accident |
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| Authors: | Ryugo S HAYANO Masaharu TSUBOKURA Makoto MIYAZAKI Hideo SATOU Katsumi SATO Shin MASAKI Yu SAKUMA |
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| Institution: | *1Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.;*2Division of Social Communication System for Advanced Clinical Research, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.;*3Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.;*4Hirata Central Hospital and Research Institute of Radiation Safety for Disaster Recovery Support, Hirata village, Fukushima, Japan. |
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| Abstract: | Comprehensive whole-body counter surveys of Miharu-town school children have been conducted for four consecutive years, in 2011–2014. This represents the only long-term sampling-bias-free study of its type conducted after the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. For the first time in 2014, a new device called the Babyscan, which has a low 134/137Cs MDA of <50 Bq/body, was used to screen the children shorter than 130 cm. No child in this group was found to have detectable level of radiocesium. Using the MDAs, upper limits of daily intake of radiocesium were estimated for each child. For those screened with the Babyscan, the upper intake limits were found to be ≲1 Bq/day for 137Cs. Analysis of a questionnaire filled out by the children’s parents regarding their food and water consumption shows that the majority of Miharu children regularly consume local and/or home-grown rice and vegetables. This however does not increase the body burden. |
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| Keywords: | Fukushima Dai-ichi accident radioactive cesium whole-body counting committed effective dose |
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