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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2025
This article expands on Greene's thesis, providing more information on the dangers of exposure to low levels of radiation. Mark Selden introduces the transcript of a speech given by Chris Busby, a British chemical physicist known for his research on the negative health effects of low-dose ionizing radiation. While Busby is a controversial figure within scientific circles, his conclusions are deeply disturbing even if they turn out to be overstated. Most alarmingly, Selden explains that Busby's findings in Ukraine show that amounts of radiation that may be acceptable for adults are lethal to children and developing fetuses.
Radiation has long been known to cause cancers such as leukemia, but Busby shows that children exposed to low levels of radiation actually often develop heart disease before any cancers develop. Because one radioactive particle can damage twenty percent of a small heart (lethal because heart tissue repairs itself relatively slowly), Busby recommends that the Japanese immediately evacuate all children near the stricken nuclear complex. Needless to say, this has not happened.
The video of Busby's talk is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Kkuo-IK-A [accessed 4/4/13].
1 Takashi Sugimoto, “Radioactive sea pollution from Fukushima may dwarf previous estimates,” Asahi Shimbun, September 9, 2011.
2 Keith Bradsher, Hiroko Tabuchi and Andrew Pollack, “Japanese Officials on the Defensive as Nuclear Alert Level Rises,’ New York Times, April 12, 2011.
3 Matthew Penney and Mark Selden provide a preliminary review of the debate in “What Price the Fukushima Meltdown? Comparing Chernobyl and Fukushima,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol 9, Issue 21, No 3, May 23, 2011.
4 Justin McCurry, “Fukushima six months on: Japanese mark moment earthquake struck, The Guardian, September 11, 2011.