2 million Inhabitants from Fukushima Undergo Radiation Controls

The first examinations were held today at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba (downtown) with a group of ten people from the town of Namie, which is located in the exclusion radius of 20 kilometers around the center of Fukushima Daiichi, reported local news agency Kyodo.

Medical check-ups focus on analyzing the amount of radioactive material that the residents can present, which will be monitored through urinalysis and body radioactivity counters.

The first checks of the plan are for 2,800 residents considered “priority” due to their proximity to the nuclear power plant in the early days after the accident, in August before starting large-scale checks the rest of the inhabitants of the province.

Last week, authorities in Fukushima also decided, as a precaution and because of the growing alarm, to distribute dosimeters to about 280,000 children, one part of the population that is considered at risk. The government plans to create a fund of 100,000 million yen (1,238 million) to finance medical examinations and monitoring of radiation to residents of Fukushima for the next 30 years.

Source: EFE