Significance: There is a potential risk of human exposure to radiation owing to the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. In this study, we evaluated radiation dose rates from deposited radiocesium in three areas neighboring the restricted and evacuation areas in Fukushima. The mean annual radiation dose rate in 2012 associated with the accident was 0.89–2.51 mSv/y. The mean dose rate estimates in 2022 are comparable with variations of the average 2 mSv/y background radiation exposure from natural radionuclides in Japan. Furthermore, the extra lifetime integrated dose after 2012 is estimated to elevate lifetime risk of cancer incidence by a factor of 1.03 to 1.05 at most, which is unlikely to be epidemiologically detectable.

Toxicokinetics of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids with different carbon chain lengths in mice and humans: Yukiko FUJII, et al. Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine—Objectives: Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) consist of analogs with various carbon chain lengths. Their toxicokinetics have remained unexplored except in the case of perfluorooctanoic acid (8 carbon chemicals). This study aimed to investigate the toxicokinetics of PFCAs with six to fourteen carbon atoms (C6 to C14) in mice and humans.Methods: We applied a two‐compartment model to mice administered PFCAs intravenously or by gavage. The time courses of the serum concentration and tissue distribution and elimination were evaluated for 24 hours after treatment. For human samples, urine from healthy volunteers, bile from patients who underwent biliary drainage, and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) from brain drainage were collected.Results: The mouse experiment showed that short‐chained PFCAs (C6 and C7) were rapidly eliminated in the urine, whereas long‐chain PFCAs (C8 to C14) accumulated in the liver and were excreted slowly in feces. Urinary clearance of PFCAs in humans also decreased with increasing alkyl chain lengths, while biliary clearances increased. C9 to C10 had the smallest total clearance for both mice and humans. However, disparities existed in the magnitude of the total clearance between mice and humans. A slightly higher partition ratio (brain/serum) was observed for long‐chained PFCAs in mice, but this was not observed in the corresponding partition ratio in humans (CSF/serum).Conclusions: The large sequestration volumes of PFCAs in the liver seem to be attributable to the liver's large binding capacity in both species. This will be useful in evaluating PFCA bioaccumulation in other species.

This study aims to estimate the ecological exposure of adult residents of Fukushima Prefecture to 134cesium (Cs) and 137Cs through ingestion and inhalation between July 2 and July 8, 2011. Fifty-five sets of meals with tap water, each representing one person’s daily intake, were purchased in local towns in Fukushima Prefecture. Locally produced cow’s milk (21 samples) and vegetables (43 samples) were also purchased. In parallel, air sampling was conducted at 12 different sites using a high-volume sampler. Nineteen sets of control meals were collected in Kyoto in July 2011. 134Cs and 137Cs levels in the samples were measured using a germanium detector. Radioactivity was detected in 36 of the 55 sample meals from Fukushima, compared with one of 19 controls from Kyoto. The median estimated dose level (μSv/year) was 3.0, ranging from not detectable to 83.1. None of the cow’s milk (21) or vegetable (49) samples showed levels of contamination above the current recommended limits (Bq/kg) of 200 for milk and 500 for vegetables. The total effective dose levels by inhalation were estimated to be <3 μSv/year at nine locations, but samples at three other locations close to the edge of the 20-km radius from the crippled nuclear power plant showed higher levels of contamination (μSv/year): 14.7 at Iitate, 76.9 at Namie, and 27.7 at Katsurao. Levels of exposure to 134Cs and 137Cs in Fukushima by ingestion and inhalation are discernible, but generally within recommended limits.