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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Japan raw liver lovers lament new food ban

Reuters – 2 hrs 14 mins ago TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan, the home of raw fish, has banned the serving of raw liver after a series of food poisoning cases last year in which five people died and 24 became seriously ill after consuming the dish at a major restaurant chain.

The dish, raw beef liver cut into bite-sized chunks and served with onions and sauce, was taken off restaurant menus indefinitely from July 1 by Japan's Health Ministry.

"When you actually cook liver it's a bit rough, but raw it's very easy to eat," said Yoshiko Miki, a 38-year-old who rushed to Kintan, a downtown Tokyo restaurant that specialized in the dish, before the ban came into effect.

"Especially the liver here is very nice and delicious. So when I think about the fact that I can't eat it anymore, it's quite sad."

Food analyst Chiharu Saito, a member of the Japan Food Analyst Association, said there were a number of well-liked raw meat items on sale, but beef liver was the most popular.

"In terms of what has the most chance of causing food poisoning, I believe that's why they chose to ban beef liver," she said.

"It can be a star product for restaurants, and if they are suddenly unable to sell that then it will indeed affect sales and profits."

Yuichi Kamata, management chief at Edge, the company that oversees the Kintan restaurant chain, said that probably 90 percent of customers had been coming specifically to eat raw liver, with a plate going for around 1,800 yen ($23).

But despite the ban, it's still far too early to count out the restaurant chain - or its star product. Kintan said it was looking into developing new products to circumvent the ban, including one in which the liver is partly cooked.

(Reporting by Chris Meyers; Editing by Elaine Lies and Eric Meijer)

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Japan faces 'extinction' in 1,000 years

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Japan market watchdog recommends $2.5 million fine for Olympus

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Watch: Japan Radioactive Particles Reach California

Japan Radioactive Particles Reach CaliforniaRadioactive Iodine was found in seaweed beds from Laguna Beach to Santa Cruz. 0Comment on this videoMost Popular News Videos

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