Death rate in US rises after Fukushima, perhaps 20,000 die

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I have been using Google for my reading; today I looked at Bing and found the following article.

The 2010-2011 change in reported U.S. deaths in the 14 weeks after fallout from the
Fukushima nuclear meltdown arrived in this country is now estimated to be 21,851 deaths
greater than expected, up from 13,983 originally estimated. The new figures were based
on deaths for the entire years 2010 and 2011, which recently became available; earlier
estimates were based on data for only part of 2011.
Joseph Mangano and Janette Sherman calculated the 2010-2011 increase in deaths in 122
U.S. cities for the period March 20 to June 25 to be +3.99%, vs. +0.73% for the rest of
the year. Extrapolating this difference to the entire U.S. yields 21,851 excess deaths in
these 14 weeks. Fukushima fallout arrived in the U.S. March 16, 2011.

The data is taken from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
weekly report on deaths for the 122 cities, about one-quarter of the U.S

Other new findings include:
1. A similar pattern to U.S. deaths in the four months after Chernobyl (estimated excess
over 20,000, final excess 16,573)
2. All age groups (<1, 1-24, 25-44, 45-64, 65+) had an excess number of deaths in the
spring of 2011 vs. 2010
3. The highest percent excess deaths was for infants under age one, who are most
susceptible to radiation exposure
4. A very large 2010-2011 increase in pneumonia/influenza deaths occurred after
Fukushima (+11.49% in the spring vs. +1.55% for the rest of the year); this was the only
cause of death given by the CDC

The nature of this study is that the increased death rate was associated in time with the Fukushima disaster; it does not proof effect.  I would also be interested in knowing how much variability occurs from 3 month periods over the course of many years.    These were not deaths from cancer, which for many is the concern.   Rather, these deaths are among the very young, who are most susceptible to radiation.   The effect is seen across all ages.   Deaths from flu and pneumonia are more likely with an injured immune system.  This story is reported by project censored, the stories that do not make the news.

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2 thoughts on “Death rate in US rises after Fukushima, perhaps 20,000 die”

  1. Metamind

    We need less statistical projections and more facts. We need radiation monitoring of everything — air, water, and food — for all kinds of radioactive isotopes. This is very expensive and needs to be done once and done right. That means GOVERNMENT needs to do it. We need to lobby our representatives in government for radiation monitoring.
    Connecting radiation to diseases and death is very difficult, if not impossible, to prove.

    Reply ↓
    1. andrewblarkin Post author

      I agree that this is a task for government. I also think that our government has been part of the problem, covering up the dangers of radiation so that nuclear reactors can continue to operate.
      The EPA has chosen not to get involved in monitoring, and has changed the standards to allow more contamination.

      Reply ↓

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