REACTS may go to Japan if needed

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

REACTS may go to Japan if needed
October 8, 1999

By Frank Munger, News-Sentinel Oak Ridge bureau

OAK RIDGE -- Based on information coming out of Japan, the medical
prognosis for two victims of last week's radiation accident appears to
be "very dire," the director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance
Center/Training Site said Thursday. 

Dr. Robert Ricks, a radiation biologist who has directed the Oak Ridge
center since 1982, said two of the three most severely exposed workers
of the Tokaimura accident received radiation doses considered to be in
the fatal range. 

"It was a major radiation accident," he said. 

Ricks said no one, to his knowledge, has ever recovered from a
whole-body dose of 1,000 rads.  Preliminary reports indicate two of the
hospitalized
victims got doses at least that high, with one approaching 1,700 rads,
he said. 

High doses of neutrons and gamma radiation would pose wide-ranging
problems, affecting the bone marrow, stomach and lungs, and the medical
response would likely focus, in part, on the victims' suppressed immune
systems, Ricks said.

Another Japanese worker reportedly received a dose of about 300 rads,
which would invoke acute radiation sickness and could be deadly without
medical treatment, Ricks said. However, with proper attention --
including blood infusions -- survival would be expected, he said. 

It's not likely there would be any near-term "medical consequences" for
others exposed to radiation by the accident, Ricks said. Reports
indicate a total of 49 people at the uranium-processing plant received
abnormal radiation doses, and investigations are under way to determine
possible exposures to others living in the vicinity. 

"Everything I'm sharing is with some degree of speculation because
there's been no formal report," Ricks said. 

Oak Ridge officials had been in communication with one of the Tokyo
physicians involved in the accident response. Information also has come
from theInternational Atomic Energy Agency and other sources. 

REACTS, a partner of the World Health Organization, maintains a registry
of radiation accidents that occur throughout the world. Ricks and his
staff have responded to many of the accident scenes, providing advice
and assistance. 

When the accident occurred Sept. 30, Ricks was at a conference on
radiation emergencies in Budapest, Hungary, and he made arrangements for
a possible flight to Tokyo. In addition, three other REACTS staffers
went to a staging area last weekend to be part of a U.S. response team,
just in case Japan called for help. 

But they all came home two days later when the mission didn't
materialize. 

It's still possible that REACTS could become involved, but that will
depend on a formal request from Japan. 

Ricks said he believes Japan has the technology and expertise to deal
with the situation on its own. Medical personnel from Japan have come to
Oak Ridge to attend courses on radiation emergencies, and REACTS
staffers have held seminars in Japan, he said. 

Meanwhile, the radiation specialists in Oak Ridge are monitoring the
situation closely. 

"We're very interested," Ricks said. "There will be a number of lessons
to be learned that can be placed into our accident registry, that can be
used in training for future accident response." 
-- 
==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 South Illinois Avenue, Suite 208
Oak Ridge, Tennessee  37830
Phone (423) 483-1333; Fax (423) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net
VISIT OUR UPDATED WEB SITE:  http://www.local-oversight.org
==================================================
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