Hypothyroidism spikes in children born along west coast after Fukushima

Incidence of hypothyroidism among children born in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii spiked in the four months after the catastrophic Fukushima nuclear-reactor meltdown in a post-tsunami Japan March 2011, a U.S.-based research project reveals. These occurrences were up by as much as 28 per cent than in 36 other U.S. states during the same period the previous year. Radioiodine isotopes were detected among the massive amounts of fallout dispersed from Fukushima just days after the meltdowns. The research paper noted that I-131 levels up to 211 times above normal were measured in U.S. precipitation in the five Pacific states. Congenital hypothyroidism, a rare condition that affects one newborn in 4,000, can cause severe brain and growth problems. Iodine deficiency is a common cause of the condition, and iodine-131 present in nuclear fallout is a risk factor for hypothyroidism. The peer-reviewed research paper, conducted on behalf of the Radiation and Public Health Project, was published in the March edition of the Open Journal of Pediatrics.