Japanese cedar leaves from Iwaki, Fukushima were analyzed for carbon, cesium and iodine isotopic compositions before and after the 2011 nuclear accident. The Δ14C values reflect ambient atmospheric 14C concentrations during the year the leaves were sampled/defoliated, and also previous year(s). The elevated 129I and 134,137Cs concentrations are attributed to direct exposure to the radioactive f...

Radioactive fallout; Chernobyl; Fukushima; Neural tube defects; Anencephaly; Spina bifida Abstract Possible link between radioactivity and the occurrence of neural tube defects is a long lasting debate since the Chernobyl nuclear fallout in 1986. A recent report on the incidence of neural defects in the west coast of USA, following Fukushima disaster, brought another evidence for effect of radi...

Possible effects of Chernobyl fallout on outcome of pregnancy in Finland were evaluated in a nationwide follow-up study. The outcomes were the rate of live births and stillbirths, pregnancy loss, and induced abortions by municipality. Exposure was assessed based on nationwide surveys of radiation dose rate from the Chernobyl fallout, from both external and internal exposures. Using these measur...

This is the second of four articles on the medical aspects of nuclear explosions. Last week described the blast and heat effects and explained that with modern large bombs significant radiation injury was likely to be due to fallout rather than to the radiation emitted by the explosion itself because most people subjected to the extremely short-lived initial radiation would be killed or fatally...

The article by Wing et al. (1) introduced the idea of calculating the relative intensity of radioactive fallout between sectors of a circle drawn around the accident at Three Mile Island. The partition derived from wind and weather data allowed a comparison of ratios of radiation exposure between sectors with cancer incidence ratios and bypassed much of the uncertainty involved in calculating a...

In sediments deposited in the coastal basins off the western North American continent since the early 1960's, there is more 241 Am activity than one would predict if its presence was solely due to the decay of 241Pu that was produced during the testing of weapons in 1961-62 (taken as ~luly 1, 1962 for calculations). This excess can be accounted for by the decay of 241 Pu, if pre-1962 fallout (f...