“Should Japan Bank Stem Cells From Fukushima Nuclear Workers?” via ScienceInsider

Several Japanese medical experts want to bank blood stem cells from workers at the ailing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The cells would be used as a treatment in case a high radiation exposure makes a worker sick. But the proposal is raising eyebrows among U.S. experts, who say it probably wouldn’t save many lives.

In a letter today in The Lancet, Tetsuya Tanimoto of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research and four others note that bringing the radiation-leaking nuclear plant under control could take months or years, and some workers could accidentally be exposed to high levels of radiation. While high radiation doses can eventually cause cancer, the immediate health effect is to destroy dividing cells—including blood cells—which wipes out the immune system. The authors point out that some workers after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster received donated bone marrow transplants, and two Japanese nuclear workers got donated stem cell transplants after a 1999 accident.

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One Response to “Should Japan Bank Stem Cells From Fukushima Nuclear Workers?” via ScienceInsider

  1. Kozen Sato says:

    ■Minimum requirements for PM Kan’s survival – Can we entrust the Nuclear and the Reconstruction to him? –

    A roadmap for stableness of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident that takes max 9 months was announced by TEPCO on 17th at last.
    Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan expressed his every effort in tackling it at the Diet on the next 18th.

    On the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano mentioned to ask for senior officers of METI to refrain from being parachuted ”AMAKUDARI” into TEPCO for the time.

    Kan regime’s dealing to the disaster looks like to have became better than ever bad operations.

    However, Kan just said that “Government will cooperate for TEPCO’s work, get together, encourage it, do things as can in full power”.
    The government still has been skillfully avoided taking responsibility in a supporter’s stance for the devastating accident.
    So the Government’s initiative is completely missing.

    Edano avoided to call a recent parachute “AMAKUDARI” in a parliamentary answer in February.

    In addition, he demanded a vague “foreseeable future refrain from it”.
    And I can’t feel his reflection on “AMAKUDARI” that made a hollowing of regulation led to a expansion of the nuclear accident.

    It is hard to say that Kan administration has qualification and capability for dealing the nuclear accident and for doing recovery and reconstruction to the earthquake disaster.

    At least the following conditions are necessary for Kan to continue sitting in the office in the future.

    (1) Honestly apologize to the people and the international community about mistake and concealment of information for nuclear accidents.
    (2) Making a government commitment to the roadmap for stableness of the nuclear accident.
    (3) Making a real decision-making organization with all parties participation for disaster recovery and restoration, and obeying the decision.

    Without fulfilling these conditions, the prime minister must resign immediately.

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