Japan Radiation Risks: FAQ

Answers to questions about health risks posed by Japan's damaged Fukushimi Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The situation at Japan's earthquake/tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant continues to keep radiation in the news.

Though the most obvious risks are in Japan, people in the U.S. and other countries have also voiced concern about the possible effects of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

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What are the risks from the radiation that already has been released -- and from the radiation that could be released if containment efforts fail?

Here are the answers to the following questions:

How dangerous is the radiation from the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors?On April 11, a month after the disaster, Japan raised the radiation alert status to its highest level, level 7 -- the same as the Chernobyl plant meltdown in Russia. It had previously been at level 5. What does this new status mean?Isn’t it bad that radiation is leaking into the ocean?What kind of radiation is coming from the plant?Are radiation-contaminated foods being imported from Japan?Could radiation from Japan's nuclear plants affect the U.S.?What is the best way to prevent radiation exposure?Should I take potassium iodide pills?What are the health effects of radiation?Is it safe to visit Japan?What does it mean for a nuclear plant to melt down?Could the nuclear disaster in Japan happen in the U.S.?

The effects almost certainly will not go far beyond the borders of Japan. For now, the chief radiation danger is to plant workers desperately trying to mitigate the disaster.

Some of the workers trying to prevent a meltdown have already suffered radiation sickness and injury from explosions related to hydrogen buildup outside the reactor core.

"The scariest outcome from such releases of radiation are the immediate effects, which are going to be only felt by personnel who have to go into the building and shut it down," radiation biologist Jacqueline P. Williams, PhD, tells WebMD. Williams is a researcher in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester, N.Y.

After the Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster started, radiation levels in Tokyo were reported to be 20 times above normal but still not in the danger zone. A no-fly zone was imposed for an 18-mile radius around the nuclear plant.

Officials in Japan have warned that babies in and around Tokyo should not be given tap water, which has been found to contain levels of radioactive iodine at twice the upper limit recommended for babies, according to media reports. 

Japan has also banned the sale of raw milk, spinach, and certain other vegetables from several areas of Japan.

The reclassification doesn’t mean that the situation has gotten worse, says Henry Royal, MD, professor of radiology and associate director of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis. Rather, it’s acknowledging that the scope of the radiation leaked from the plant was larger than originally thought.

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