[ RadSafe ] Fwd: [New post] Birth defects from nuclear radiation

[Roger Helbig]

Mangano and Sherman continue to baffle and confuse while pretending to
be scientists - too bad that they have misused doctoral educations
that much

Roger Helbig

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: nuclear-news <comment-reply at wordpress.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 20, 2015 at 5:12 PM
Subject: [New post] Birth defects from nuclear radiation
To: rwhelbig at gmail.com


Christina MacPherson posted: "The first documented excesses of
congenital anomalies were among children of survivors of the Hiroshima
and Nagasaki bombings. The 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl produced
numerous reports of certain congenital anomalies among populations
subject to fallout"
Respond to this post by replying above this line

New post on nuclear-news

Birth defects from nuclear radiation

by Christina MacPherson

The first documented excesses of congenital anomalies were among
children of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

The 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl produced numerous reports of certain
congenital anomalies among populations subject to fallout from the
stricken reactor

Open Journal of Pediatrics
Vol.05 No.01(2015), Article ID:54828,13 pages
10.4236/ojped.2015.51013

Changes in Congenital Anomaly Incidence in West Coast and Pacific
States (USA) after Arrival of Fukushima Fallout   Joseph Mangano*,
Janette D. Sherman

Radiation and Public Health Project, New York, USA

ABSTRACT

Radioactive fallout after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown
entered the U.S. environment within days; levels of radioactivity were
particularly elevated in the five western states bordering on the
Pacific Ocean. The particular sensitivity of the fetus to radiation
exposure, and the ability of radioisotopes to attach to cells,
tissues, and DNA raise the question of whether fetuses/newborns with
birth defects with the greater exposures suffered elevated harm during
the period after the meltdown.

We compare rates of five congenital anomalies for 2010 and 2011 births
from April-November. The increase of 13.00% in the five western states
is significantly greater than the 3.77% decrease for all other U.S.
states combined (CI 0.030 – 0.205, p < 0.008). Consistent patterns of
elevated increases are observed in the west (20 of 21 comparisons, 6
of which are statistically significant/borderline significant), by
state, type of birth defect, month of birth, and month of conception.

While these five anomalies are relatively uncommon (about 7500 cases
per year in the U.S.), sometimes making statistical significance
difficult to achieve, the consistency of the results lend strength to
the analysis, and suggest fetal harm from Fukushima may have occurred
in western U.S. states.

1. Introduction

The harmful effects of radiation exposure to chromosomes have been
known for nearly a century, starting with the discovery of chromosomal
deformities in irradiated fruit flies [1] . Experiments with mice [2]
[3] and rats [4] confirmed this knowledge, and documented elevated
risk for congenital defects, at relatively low doses of exposure.
Populations exposed to pre-conception X-rays have been shown to have
higher congenital anomalies [5] as were those living in areas with
relatively high background radiation [6] [7] .

One form of radiation, byproducts of uranium or plutonium fission, was
first introduced into the environment from weapons and reactors seven
decades ago [8] -[10] . These isotopes bind with cells, tissues, and
DNA of the unborn, and thus risks of congenital defects in irradiated
populations have been studied. The first documented excesses of
congenital anomalies were among children of survivors of the Hiroshima
and Nagasaki bombings. [8] -[10] . During the 1950s, reports of
various defects among newborns in the Marshall Islands, the site of 67
large-scale U.S. nuclear weapons tests, were made public. Other
studies found links with between atmospheric tests and elevated birth
defects, including a high rate of Down Syndrome in northwest England
in 1963-1964, the peak period of global fallout from tests [11] .
Another report documented elevated birth defect incidence near the
Hanford nuclear weapons plant in Washington state (USA) [12] .

The 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl produced numerous reports of certain
congenital anomalies among populations subject to fallout from the
stricken reactor. One documented a doubling of congenital
developmental anomalies among infants born to fathers who worked as
liquidators to contain the meltdown [13] . Various analyses presented
elevated congenital anomaly rates in various parts of the Belarus
region, which received the greatest doses of radioactivity from the
meltdown, in the years following Chernobyl [14] -[22] . Other research
also found high birth defect rates in the Ukraine [23] [24] , Bulgaria
[25] , Croatia [26] , and Germany [27] -[30] including areas with
fallout levels well below those Belarussian sites closest to the
reactor.

Post-Chernobyl studies also identified elevated rates of specific
anomalies, the most-analyzed of which was Down syndrome (Trisomy-21),
mostly in Germany [31] -[39] . Other conditions included neural tube
defects in Turkey [40] -[43] , cleft lip/palate in Germany [44] [45] ,
and anencephaly in Turkey [46] . Meta-analyses concluded that a
pattern of elevated congenital anomaly rates was associated with
exposure to the Chernobyl meltdown [47] -[49] .

No published reports exist on the change in congenital defects rates
in Japan after the March 2011 meltdown at Fukushima. However, at least
one report examines morphological abnormality rates in aphids in the
first sexual reproduction period after the meltdown, and found a 13.2%
rate close to Fukushima vs. 3.8% in seven control areas [50] .

Changes in the rate of one type of birth defect, congenital
hypothyroidism, have been reported. In the five U.S. states bordering
on the Pacific Ocean, with the most elevated levels of environmental
radiation after the meltdown, a 16% increase in incidence of the
disorder was observed in the nine months following the meltdown,
compared to a 3% decrease in 36 other U.S. states [51] . The gap was
particularly large (28% increase vs. a 4% decrease) in the first 14
weeks after the arrival of fallout. In addition, the rate of
California newborns with a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone score of 19
micro international units per milliliter of blood during initial
screening, was 27% greater in the nine months after the meltdown
compared to other periods in 2011-2012 [52] . The known affinity for
radioactive iodine to attack cell membranes and DNA in the thyroid
gland indicates a potential link between Fukushima fallout and
congenital hypothyroidism.

Historical reports linking exposure to ionizing radiation with
congenital anomaly risk, plus the initial reports on congenital
hypothyroidism in the western U.S. suggest further analysis be
conducted on other birth defects.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes
national data collected by state health departments on incidence of
five congenital anomalies in the nation. These include Anencephaly,
Cleft Lip/Pa- late, Down Syndrome, Omphalocele/Gastroschisis, and
Spina Bifida/Meningocele [53] . Approximately 7500 cases of these five
defects occur in the U.S. each year. As of mid-2014, the CDC web site
contained complete birth defect data for the years 2007 to 2012.

These five specific anomalies to be addressed in this report, merit
some discussion, including their suspected link with radiation
exposure………http://file.scirp.org/Html/13-1330400_54828.htm

Christina MacPherson | November 21, 2015 at 1:12 am | Categories:
children, Reference | URL: http://wp.me/phgse-l98

Comment    See all comments

Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from nuclear-news.
Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions.

Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://nuclear-news.net/2015/11/21/birth-defects-from-nuclear-radiation/

Thanks for flying with WordPress.com