Radioactivity in the environment chapter 12 environmental injustice inherent in radiation dose standards

Radioactivity in the environment chapter 12 environmental injustice inherent in radiation dose standards Radioactivity in the environment chapter 12 environmental injustice inherent in radiation dose standards Radioactivity in the environment chapter 12 environmental injustice inherent in radiation dose standards Radioactivity in the environment chapter 12 environmental injustice inherent in radiation dose standards Radioactivity in the environment chapter 12 environmental injustice inherent in radiation dose standards

Chapter 12 Environmental Injustice Inherent in Radiation Dose Standards Kristin Shrader-Frechette Department of Philosophy and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA E-mail: kshrader@nd.edu Chapter Outline 12.1 Introduction   197 12.2 The Fukushima Accident   198 12.3 Fukushima Environmental-Injustice Victims   199 12.4 Poor People: EIJ Victims 200 12.5 Poor People and Nuclear/ Radiation Regulations   201 12.6 Children: FD EIJ Victims   203 12.7  hildren and NuclearC Radiation Regulations  204 12.8 Nuclear Workers: FD EIJ Victims   206 12.9 Workers and Nuclear-Radiation Regulations   207 12.10 Future Generations, FD, and Nuclear-Radiation Regulations   208 12.11 Conclusions   210 12.1 INTRODUCTION Consider the following statements (A) “The only possible physical/health consequences of the Fukushima ­disaster would be the occurrence of cancer.” (B) “Besides thyroid cancer, no other cancers have been recognized to have increased after…[the] Chernobyl [nuclear accident].” (C) “Instruction to evacuate [Fukushima] has…been issued…where you might receive physical effects from radiation…If you not receive… instruction to evacuate, you can stay.” Radioactivity in the Environment, Volume 19 ISSN 1569-4860, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-045015-5.00012-5 Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved 197 198 PART | III  Lessons Learned from Nuclear Accidents (D) “Below the 20 mSv dose, it is OK to lead a normal life…you not need to worry.” (E) “If you live in an area outside of the evacuation area, you not need to worry about giving or receiving any radiation at all” (MEXT, 2011) Statements (A)–(E) above are obviously false, yet the Japanese government posts them on an official government website for Fukushima-Daiichi (FD) information Even if one looks at a scientifically “old” source, a classic US National Academy of Sciences report, published years before the Japanese postings, it is clear that (A) is false because radiation effects also include genetic damage, transmissible mutations, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, etc (NAS, 2006) (B) is false because the Chernobyl accident is documented as having caused many cancer and non-cancer effects, including increased autoimmune disease, genetic mutations, chromosomal aberrations, etc (NAS, 2006) (C)–(E) are false because the evacuation occurred only for those receiving>20 mSv doses, yet doses