Radiated JCO plant worker to be moved to different hospital

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Radiated JCO plant worker to be moved to different hospital

TOKYO, April 6 (Kyodo) - A worker who was exposed to an excessive 
dose of radiation at a plant run by JCO Co., in Japan's worst ever 
nuclear accident, will be transferred to a different hospital to 
receive more generalized care, as his hospitalization is expected to 
be prolonged, doctors said Thursday. 

Masato Shinohara, 40, will be moved Monday from the Research Hospital 
of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Medical Science in Tokyo's 
Minato Ward to the University of Tokyo Hospital in Bunkyo Ward next 
Monday, doctors at the Research Hospital said. 

In late February, Shinohara experienced difficulty breathing on his 
own after contracting pneumonia and was bleeding from his stomach. He 
was moved to the intensive care unit and placed on an artificial 
respirator. 

His condition has since stabilized, but remains unpredictable. 
Doctors have decided to move him to a better equipped medical 
institution where he can obtain care in the fields of plastic surgery 
and rehabilitation. 

The doctors told a press conference Thursday that Shinohara's 
breathing has improved. They said he can breathe on his own for short 
periods of time during the day, but that his pneumonia has become 
chronic and he continues to bleed from his stomach. 

They said they have also observed necrosis in his fingers and toes -- 
a condition thought to be caused by deteriorating blood circulation 
resulting from excess radiation exposure. 

Shinohara was exposed to an estimated 8 sieverts of radiation at a 
uranium-processing plant in Tokaimaru, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sept. 
30. 

Co-worker Hisashi Ouchi, 35, died Dec. 21 from multiple organ failure 
after being exposed to an estimated 17 sieverts of radiation. 

That level is said to be about 17,000 times the maximum annual 
permissible exposure in Japan. 

Shinohara and Ouchi poured an excess amount of uranium into a 
processing tank, triggering a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. 


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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
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Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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