An overview of current knowledge concerning the health and environmental consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident

Autor: Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, Jun Wen Wu, Timothy A. Mousseau, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Ahmad Termizi Ramli
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environment International, Vol 85, Iss, Pp 213-228 (2015)
ISSN: 0160-4120
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.09.020
Popis: Since 2011, the scientific community has worked to identify the exact transport and deposition patterns of radionuclides released from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in Japan. Nevertheless, there still remain many unknowns concerning the health and environmental impacts of these radionuclides. The present paper reviews the current understanding of the FDNPP accident with respect to interactions of the released radionuclides with the environment and impacts on human and non-human biota. Here, we scrutinize existing literature and combine and interpret observations and modeling assessments derived after Fukushima. Finally, we discuss the behavior and applications of radionuclides that might be used as tracers of environmental processes. This review focuses on 137Cs and 131I releases derived from Fukushima. Published estimates suggest total release amounts of 12–36.7 PBq of 137Cs and 150–160 PBq of 131I. Maximum estimated human mortality due to the Fukushima nuclear accident is 10,000 (due to all causes) and the maximum estimates for lifetime cancer mortality and morbidity are 1500 and 1800, respectively. Studies of plants and animals in the forests of Fukushima have recorded a range of physiological, developmental, morphological, and behavioral consequences of exposure to radioactivity. Some of the effects observed in the exposed populations include the following: hematological aberrations in Fukushima monkeys; genetic, developmental and morphological aberrations in a butterfly; declines in abundances of birds, butterflies and cicadas; aberrant growth forms in trees; and morphological abnormalities in aphids. These findings are discussed from the perspective of conservation biology. Keywords: Biota, Human health, Fukushima nuclear accident, Radioactive contamination, Radioecology, Source term
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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