Japan Nuke Disaster Will Kill Up to 1,300 People Worldwide, Study Estimates

HealthDay – 2 hrs 1 min ago TUESDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- Radiation from last year's disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may eventually cause up to 1,300 deaths and 2,500 cases of cancer worldwide, according to U.S. researchers who calculated the global health effects of the incident.

Most of those deaths and cancer cases would occur in Japan, the Stanford University team said.

Although their estimates have a large range of uncertainty, the findings challenge previous claims that the radioactivity released by the damaged plant was not likely to cause any severe health effects.

The researchers' calculations are in addition to the approximately 600 deaths caused by the evacuation of the area around the nuclear plant after the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and meltdown.

The study, published July 17 in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, is the first detailed analysis of how the disaster could affect health around the world.

For the study, the investigators used a global atmospheric model to predict the transport of radioactive material released by the plant and used another model to estimate the health effects of the radiation.

The health effects would overwhelmingly occur in Japan, with extremely small effects in mainland Asia and North America. For example, the United States was predicted to have between 0 and 12 deaths and 0 to 30 cancer cases related to radiation from the Fukushima plant.

The findings should "serve to manage the fear in other countries that the disaster had an extensive global reach," study author John Ten Hoeve, a recent Ph.D. graduate, said in a Stanford news release.

More information

The World Health Organization has more about health concerns associated with the Fukushima disaster.

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Meatball company recalls 300,000 pounds of meat over listeria risk

Reuters – Sat, Jul 7, 2012 (Reuters) - A New Jersey meatball manufacturer is recalling more than 300,000 pounds (136,000 kg) of meat products due to possible listeria contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said on Saturday.

Bridgeton, New Jersey-based Buona Vita Inc was recalling about 324,770 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products produced in May, including meatballs, chicken and beef patties, and loafs of chicken and beef, the agency said in a written statement.

The FSIS described the health risk related to the recall as "high," according to the statement.

Representatives for Buona Vita, which says on its website that it produces 200,000 pounds (90,000 kg) of meatballs a day, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The possible contamination was discovered through testing by FSIS and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the FSIS statement said. There have been no reports of illness related to the company's products, it added.

In 2011, more than 30 people died from listeria-contaminated cantaloupe linked to Jensen Farms in Colorado.

Listeria bacteria thrive in low temperatures. Outbreaks are usually associated with deli meats, unpasteurized cheeses and smoked refrigerated seafood products.

Listeriosis has a long incubation period, with symptoms sometimes not showing up until two months after people consume tainted foods.

Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea and other gastric problems.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney)

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