福島県持續舉行甲状腺検査説明会

Last month the Mainichi News on-line reported the following:　

東京電力福島第１原発事故を受け福島県内の当時１８歳以下の子供を対象に行われている甲状腺検査について、検査主体の県立医大による初の県民説明会が４日、同県郡山市で開かれた。開示請求しなければ甲状腺画像が提供されないことに批判が相次ぎ、検査責任者の鈴木真一教授は「開示を検討したい」と応じた。

　検査は昨年１０月から始まり、約３分の１に当たる１１万５０００人分の１次検査を終えたが、「検査結果の説明が不十分」との批判が高まっていた。

　説明会は約７０人が参加。鈴木教授は「現時点では甲状腺がんが増える可能性は低い」「福島の子どもの検査結果が異様なわけではない」と強調しつつ、「日本ではこれまで小児甲状腺腫瘍の疫学調査はなかった」などと検査への理解を求めた。

　説明会は２時間の予定が１時間近く延長された。同様の説明会は福島市で１０日、南相馬市で１８日に開き、他地域でも順次開催予定という。

(試譯文)

About the thyroid inspection conducted for children in Fukushima who were at that time aged 18 and below and had suffered from the disaster caused by the number one nuclear power plant of the Tokyo Electric Power at Fukushima, the first briefing session for people in the prefecture conducted by the prefecture medical college, as the main inspection institution, was held in Koriyama city of the prefecture on the 4^th (November). If a request for disclosure was not carried out, criticism succeeding one another would point out that a thyroid picture could not be made available. Professor Shinichi Suzuki, the person in charge of the inspection said in response that "I would like to consider a disclosure."

Although the inspection was started in October last year and the primary inspection for 115,000 people, an equivalent to about 1/3 was finished; criticism was increasing saying that "explanation for the test result is insufficient".

As for a briefing session, about 70 people had participated. Professor Suzuki emphasized that “the possibility that thyroid cancer will increase at present is "low", and that "the test result of the child of Fukushima is not necessarily strange". He was seeking an understanding towards the inspection noting that “in Japan, there was no epidemiologic survey of children thyroid gland tumor until now" etc.

As for the briefing session, the scheduled 2 hours was extended for about 1 hour. The same briefing session would be held in Fukushima city on the 10th, and in Minamisoma city on the 18th, and it was planned to hold in other areas one by one eventually.

Although it is a costly medical project, it is needed in order to reduce the anxiety of the people living in Fukushima.