Evidence based discussion and the information vacuum... a year after Fukushima

Dismayed and confused by a rather unedifying debate about the benefits/dangers of nuclear power in the final five minutes of the Radio 4 Today programmme seemingly devoted to sound bite discussion of huge world scale issues... I found a little more detail in the following Guardian article ...

Fukushima residents plagued by health fears of nuclear threat in their midst - A year after the power plant's triple meltdown, conflicting official information leaves families confused and fearful for their future

"A year on, we are really not seeing basic health services being offered in an accessible way and we are not seeing accurate, consistent, non-contradictory information being disclosed to people on a regular basis," Jane Cohen, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. "People have to at least be equipped with accurate information so that they are evaluating their situation based on real facts." Tadateru Konoe, president of the Japanese Red Cross, said parents from Fukushima were living in an "information vacuum".

"We have stopped eating rice grown by my husband's parents, and I never buy locally grown vegetables," Abe, 46, said. "I started buying imported meat, and we drink only bottled water. I try not to hang out laundry on windy days ... I'd like to be able to air our futons, but I can't."... Her anxiety is compounded by conflicting messages from experts about the risk of exposure to low-level radiation. Her concerns centre on her daughter, who has a tiny lump on her thyroid gland. Doctors have assured her it is benign. "Even though they say there's nothing to worry about I'd like her to have more frequent tests," Abe said. "Our children have all been wearing glass badges [to measure radiation absorption], but only a few of them have been screened," said Mitsue Shiga, a teacher at a kindergarten in Fukushima city's Watari suburb. "We don't allow the children to play outside at all."

For a more comprehensive assessment of the accident's impact on health, Fukushima residents will have to wait for the UN scientific committee on the effects of atomic radiation to publish its findings in May 2013.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/09/fukushima-residents-pla...