The article about the failure of certain authorities to distribute iodine pills to the general public in Fukushima was edited, shortened and published by the major national, Swedish-language daily newspaper in Finland, Hufvudstadsbladet, on March 17, 2014. Some readers of my blog have asked why this was done, and what the significance was, as far as the Fukushima Badge Project is concerned.
The answer is that it does not concern the Badge Project directly, but it serves the purpose of highlighting a typical botched administrative decision, of a kind that is all too common. The point is that many narratives of this kind do not reach the general public, and they are ignored by mainstream media in Japan. More mismanagement stories need to be made public and spread, not ignored.
When I got the chance to describe this particular failure to a news editor of the paper, she responded positively and suggested I’d supply the material for publication. I of course eagerly did so, and the result was then published, however not as a feature but in the section “Letters to the Editor”. But published it was, and potentially reached 98 000 readers in Finland, according to distribution statistics.
This was but one story that needs to be told and retold, with your help. Please pass it on. The more that is told about the irresponsibility and incompetence of those in power, the better.
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ ３月１７日の新聞の掲載欄です。Varför gavs inte jod åt alla? から始まります。 以下は最初に英語訳、次にスウェ―デン語記事文章です。 Here is the story published on March 17, 2014 in Hufvudstadsbladet, a national newspaper in Finland (the country’s main daily newspaper in Swedish, 98 000 readers, established in 1864). The paper shortened the article, leaving out some information, and what’s below is a translation of what was actually published.
＜フィンランドの新聞に掲載された記事の英語訳＞ Why didn’t everyone get iodine? FUKUSHIMA DISASTER
After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, three years ago, 270 000 children in the region have had thyroid examinations, resulting in 75 cases of confirmed or suspected thyroid cancer. That is one case for every 3000 children. According to the statistics for the entire country the corresponding incidence is one in a million children, so locally the cancer cases have increased three hundred times. It would seem logical to assume that this is related to the massive fallout of radioactive iodine immediately after the reactor explosions. But the government, the prefecture and their appointed specialists do not agree. Dr. Syunichi Yamashita, vice president of Nagasaki University, belittles the significance of the high cancer incidence, saying that the large number of cancer cases is due to advanced screening technology. He says the screening finds every single case, so there’s no dark area any more. Yamashita was also instrumental in the blocking of the distribution of iodine pills in the days after the disaster. He publicly announced that iodine distribution to the Fukushimans was unnecessary, even in the areas that had to be evacuated. Iodine pills are needed to stop the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland. That is why iodine doses are stocked,as a provision. However, in Fukushima, after the power plant explosions, no iodine was distributed. With two significant exceptions. One exception was the case of Miharu town, 50 km away from the crippled reactors, where the mayor made his own decision to provide iodine tablets to all residents. At the time, he got a lot of criticism for this, because no go-ahead had been given by higher authority. Later it became clear that the distribution of pills was the right decision. Yamashita later admitted in an interview that he had significantly underestimated the radiation level and it would have been better if medical iodine had been given to residents in the entire region.Surprisingly, there was another group who also took the iodine tablets, namely Fukushima Medical University (FMU) employees, including non-medical staff, their families and students. The distribution inside FMU already started on March 12, right after the hydrogen explosion in the reactor No.1. Because this was not in line with the authorities’ recommendation, all employees were ordered to keep the matter secret. The general public in Fukushima and in Japan was subjected to reassuring talks. Dr. Yamashita repeatedly told Fukushima residents on many occasions that there was no need to worry about radiation exposure, and children could even play outside. The real situation was completely different. Now that three years have passed since the worst nuclear disaster of mankind, the parents in Fukushima still live with the fear and anxiety that their child will be among those getting thyroid cancer. Meanwhile the political leaders of the country and prefecture, and medical authorities such as FMU, join in the chorus saying that there is no evident relation between child thyroid cancer and radiation from the crippled power plant, and they confidently predict that the number of the cancer cases will not increase. Satoko Tsunematsu, Fukushima evacuee, Rennes, France
Here’s the published text in Swedish: ＜実際にフィンランドの新聞にVa掲載されたスウェ―デン語の記事＞ Varför gavs inte jod åt alla? FUKUSHIMAOLYCKAN Efter kärnkraftsolyckan i Fukushima för tre år sedan har 270 000 barn i regionen genomgått sköldkörtelundersökningar. Bland dem har 75 fall av sköldkörtelcancer, säkra eller sannolika, påträffats. Det är ett fall per 3000 barn. Enligt statistiken för hela landet är motsvarande incidens ett fall på en miljon barn, så lokalt har cancerfallen ökat trehundrafalt. Det ligger nära till hands att förmoda att det här har ett samband med det massiva nedfallet av radioaktivt jod genast efter kraftverksexplosionerna. Men det får inte medhåll av regeringen, prefekturen och deras inkallade specialister. Dr. Syunichi Yamashita, vicepresident vid Nagasaki universitet, bortförklarar den höga cancerincidensen med att de nuvarande fallen har påträffats tack vare högt avancerad screeningteknik. Han säger att undersökningarna gör att alla fall kommer i dagen, så att inget mörkertal förekommer. Yamashita var också i nyckelposition för stoppandet av utdelningen av jodtabletter dagarna efter katastrofen. Han försäkrade offentligt att utdelningen av jodtabletter till Fukushimaborna inte behövdes, inte ens i de områden som evakuerades. Jodtabletter behövs för att hindra radioaktivt jod från att anrikas i sköldkörteln. Därför hålls jodtabletter i lager för att snabbt delas ut i en risksituation. Men i Fukushima efter kraftverksexplosionerna blev det ingen utdelning. Med två undantag. Det ena undantaget var staden Miharu, 50 km från de havererade reaktorerna. Borgmästaren tog på eget initiativ beslutet att dela ut tabletter till alla invånare. Han fick mängder av ovett på sig för sitt tilltag från prefekturen eftersom inget tillstånd hade getts från högre ort. Senare visade det sig att utdelningen var ett riktigt beslut. Yamashita har senare i en intervju medgett att han kraftigt hade underskattat strålningsmängden och att det nog hade varit bättre att ge order om jodtabletter till alla i hela regionen. Förvånande nog fanns det också en annan grupp som tog jodtabletter, nämligen de anställda vid Fukushima medicinhögskola (FMU) jämte icke-medicinsk personal, familjemedlemmar och studerande. Utdelningen av jodtabletter verkställdes redan den 12 mars, omedelbart efter vätgasexplosionen i reaktor 1. Eftersom det inte var i linje med regeringens rekommendation belades alla anställda med tystnadsplikt. Allmänheten i Fukushima och i hela Japan utsattes för lugnande besked. Dr Yamashita gick upprepade gånger ut med försäkringar om att det var obefogat att vara rädd för strålningen, barn kunde rentav leka utomhus. Den verkliga situationen var en helt annan. När nu tre år har gått sedan den värsta kärnolyckan i mänsklighetens historia lever föräldrar i Fukushima fortfarande i ångest över att just deras barn ska drabbas av sköldkörtelcancer. Men den politiska ledningen i landet och prefekturen samt medicinska auktoriteter som FMU fortsätter att i kör tuta ut att det inte finns något påtagligt samband mellan sköldkörtelcancer hos barn och strålningen från kärnolyckan, och de spår att antalet cancerfall inte kommer att stiga. Satoko Tsunematsu, Fukushimaevakuerad, Rennes, Frankrike OOO XXX OOO XXX OOO XXX OOOXXX OOO XXX 最後まで読んでくださってありがとうございます。 これに関してのお問い合わせはfukuhsimabadge@gmail.comまで。 We are very happy to get any kind of questions from Readers. (English, German, French, Italian, Scandinavian are available) 英、仏、独、伊、北欧言語でのお問い合わせをお待ちしております。
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