Media reports claim radiation from the 2011 Fukushima disaster caused thyroid problems in one-third of West Coast newborns. But they’re so, so wrong.
The news is grim. West Coast babies are being born with thyroid problems left and right, media reports suggest. One-third have been affected! Radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster is to blame. What to do?!!!
Except … this isn’t true.
The rumor has spread across the Internet, but it comes from the misinterpretation of a new study. The preparedness organization Living Ready asked me to report the unbiased truth about this study’s findings in a guest blog post.
“Even worst case, the researchers found that nowhere near one-third of the newborns were hit with thyroid problems,” I write. “Not even close.” You can read the post here.
Have you seen these Fukushima thyroid rumors? What did you think?
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Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Digital Globe (CC-BY-SA-3.0).