ALARMIST predictions that the long-term health effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident will be worse than those following Chernobyl in 1986 are likely to aggravate harmful psychological effects of the incident. That was the warning heard at a conference on radiation research in Warsaw, Poland, this week.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to stop these sorts of reports coming out, because they are really upsetting the Japanese population,鈥� says Gerry Thomas at Imperial College London, who is attending the meeting. 鈥淭he media has a hell of a lot of responsibility here, because the worst post-Chernobyl effects were the psychological consequences and this shouldn鈥檛 happen again.鈥�
聯Alarmist reports coming out about Fukushima must stop as they are upsetting the Japanese population聰
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Japan鈥檚 Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency report that the release of radioactivity from Fukushima is about 10 per cent that of Chernobyl. 鈥淭he Japanese did the right thing, providing stable iodine to ensure that radioactive doses to children were minimal,鈥� Thomas says.
Japanese researchers attending the meeting are upset, she adds. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying: 鈥楶lease tell the truth, because no one believes us鈥�.鈥�
