Seven emergency nuclear workers, who had internal exposure due to an intake of radionuclides, mainly I-131, during the emergency response operation in March 2011, after the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), visited the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) outpatient clinic for medical evaluation. They were followed up after their first visit for 10 years. The estimated committed equivalent doses to the thyroid were distributed between 3.2 to 1.2 × 10 Sv. This group thought to be received highest exposure at the accident. None of the workers had symptoms related to abnormal thyroid function. The examinations, including thyroid function tests and ultrasound, detected no abnormalities related to radiation exposure. However, there is a need for continuous monitoring of their thyroid status for longer periods in the future.
Keywords: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident; cancer; follow-up; thyroid; thyroid function; workers.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Radiation Research Society and Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology.