Obesity a growing problem among children in Fukushima — The Asahi Shimbun

” Fears that playing outdoors will risk radiation exposure, and other lifestyle changes brought on by the 2011 nuclear crisis, are being blamed for a rise in obesity among youngsters in Fukushima Prefecture.

An education ministry survey released Jan. 23 calculated the percentage of children on a prefectural basis whose body weight is at least 20 percent heavier than normal.

It carries out the nationwide survey each year by randomly choosing children between the ages of 5 and 17 attending kindergartens, elementary, junior high and high schools.

The latest survey for fiscal 2014 found that 15.07 percent of 9-year-olds in Fukushima Prefecture were 20 percent or more heavier than normal. The figure was much higher than the national average of 8.14 percent, and the highest among all 47 prefectures.

The corresponding figure in Fukushima Prefecture was also the highest among all prefectures for 7-year-olds, 11-year-olds and 13-year-olds.

For 17-year-olds, the figure in Fukushima Prefecture was 13.11 percent, much higher than the 9.48 percent national average and the second highest among all prefectures.

According to the ministry, obese children are most commonly found in the Tohoku region, where winter snow tends to keep youngsters inside.

However, the trend has been especially acute in Fukushima Prefecture since the 2011 onset of the nuclear crisis spawned by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

The ministry said this appeared to be because children in Fukushima Prefecture are restricted from playing outdoors due to radiation fears and other associated lifestyle changes.

It is currently engaged in improving physical education. “(However), it will take time until its effects appear,” a ministry official said. ”

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Radioactive plumes spread cesium a week after Fukushima disaster — Mainichi

” A second wave of radioactive material from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant disaster spread over the Tohoku and Kanto regions around one week after the outbreak of the disaster, analysis of radiation readings has found.

It was already known that clouds of radioactive material, known as “radioactive plumes,” had spread on March 15 and 16, 2011, but new analysis by the secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority and the Ministry of the Environment shows similar radiation readings for March 20 and 21 as well.

Until now, radiation levels after the disaster have been estimated by comparing observed readings, such as those from aircraft, with computer simulations obtained from the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI). For the most recent analysis, the Ministry of the Environment used data from constant monitoring devices used to measure vehicle exhaust fumes and other such air pollution. The ministry sought help from institutions including Tokyo Metropolitan University and the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo. It collected filter paper that catches airborne particles from around 90 monitoring stations in nine prefectures. Researchers analyzed radiation levels from March 12 to March 23, 2011.

The analysis showed that at one monitoring station in the city of Fukushima on the night of March 15, the combined activity of cesium-137 and cesium-134 went as high as 45.5 becquerels per cubic meter of air.

Radioactive plumes are believed to have continuously spewed from the plant between March 16 and March 19 as well, but the analysis suggests that due to eastern-blowing winds, they spread out over the Pacific Ocean and did not elevate atmospheric radiation levels over Japan. However, the wind direction later changed, and at 3 p.m. on March 20, the Fukushima city monitoring station registered a reading of 104.1 becquerels per cubic meter of air. Readings around this level continued until the next morning.

It is widely known that a radioactive plume spread around March 15, causing a sharp climb in radiation levels to around 20 microsieverts per hour after rain caused radioactive material to fall on homes and on the ground. Rain did not fall on March 20 and 21, so the already-high radiation levels near homes and on the ground did not climb noticeably. This is thought to be the reason why the second radioactive plume was not noticed until now.

In the Kanto region, two belts of high-concentration radiation were registered — one on March 15 and one on March 21. In particular, on the morning of March 21 there was a spike in radioactive cesium concentrations in southern Ibaraki Prefecture and northeastern Chiba Prefecture. Afterwards, the plumes appear to have moved southwest to the northeastern coast of Tokyo Bay. Rain is thought to have brought the radioactive material down to the area and created radioactive “hot spots” that were recorded in various areas.

Yuichi Moriguchi, an environmental systems professor at the University of Tokyo who is knowledgeable about environmental pollution from the Fukushima disaster, commented, “This is important data that shows when and where high concentrations of cesium in the atmosphere spread. This information will help in accurately determining residents’ radiation exposure at the early stages of the nuclear crisis.” ”

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High radiation levels found at possible Olympic sites; Tokyo dismisses data — The Asahi Shimbun

” A citizens group said it measured high radiation levels at candidate venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the metropolitan government disputes the data and the International Olympic Committee has shown little interest.

The group said some of the potential venues for the Summer Games had radiation levels exceeding the Tokyo metropolitan government’s standards for decontamination: 0.23 microsievert per hour 1 meter above ground or a hot spot that measures at least 1 microsievert per hour higher than the surrounding areas.

The site with the highest airborne radiation level was Yumenoshima Stadium in Tokyo’s Koto Ward. Located within Yumenoshima Park, the site has a nearby canal where yachts are anchored.

For the 2020 Games, the stadium and the 12 adjacent baseball fields will be plowed over. Facilities are planned there for equestrian events, such as dressage and jumping.

Group members said a reading of 0.484 microsievert per hour was detected 5 centimeters above ground in shrubs next to an entrance on the southern side of the stadium. They said they did not know why such a high reading was found. … ”

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