SeminarThursday 12 February 2015
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Report From Fukushima: Health Issues After the 2011 Nuclear Incident
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
On 11 March 2011, Japan experienced an unprecedented catastrophe compounded by a radiation-release incident at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which was later assessed as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale – the worst possible rating.
According to Dr Masaharu Tsubokura, a leading researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Medical Science, who has initiated and promoted radiation screening programs in several municipalities in the affected areas since the incident, there has been a great deal of speculation about radiation exposure and the future health risks among nearby residents because little actual scientific evidence has been available on the current situation around Fukushima.
Dr Tsubokura and Dr Morita are medical doctors based at Minamisoma General Municipal Hospital and Soma Central Hospital, located in coastal cities of Fukushima Prefecture (Minamisoma City and Soma City, 15-40km north of the nuclear plant). They gave a talk on the current local situation in the context of radiation issues and other public health problems that have arisen after the incident, such as accelerated ageing. They also presented actual measurement data on radiation exposure levels in these cities, rather than giving estimates or proxies.
You can watch the recording of the event here:
About the contributors
Dr Masaharu Tsubokura
Dr Masaharu Tsubokura is a researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Medical Science, and a doctor of haematology at the Minamisoma General Municipal Hospital, located 23 km north of the nuclear plant. After the Fukushima nuclear plant incident in 2011, he has worked with local municipalities and medical facilities in Fukushima, and been primarily involved in internal radiation exposure screening programs for the local people. He is also a member of the committee on radiation protection and public health in Minamsioma City and Soma City, and has actively strived to provide a radiation seminar for public in order to respond to consultations from those who worry about their radiation exposure.
Dr Tomohiro Morita
Dr Tomohiro Morita graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo in 2012. Since 2014, he has been based at the Internal Medicine at Soma Central Hospital as a medical doctor, and contributed to disaster recovery plans in Soma City, such as strengthening the local capacity for managing radiation exposure risks. He is also a researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Medical Science.