Some 28,000 Japanese from Fukushima disaster zone to begin health checks

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED June 29, 2011

The first 28,000 residents in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will undergo medical examinations as a part of a broader health checkup program in Fukushima Prefecture, NHK news agency reported on Monday.

The first 10 people arrived on Monday at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in the city of Chiba to check the amount of radioactive materials inside their bodies.

All in all around two million residents will undergo the medical examinations. A full-scale test will begin in August.

A 9.0-magnitude quake struck off Japan's northeast coast on March 11, triggering a tsunami and explosions at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which caused the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

According to Japanese scientists, the tsunami triggered by the quake washed over 561 square kilometers in 23 prefectures. Huge waves reached 10 kilometers (6 miles) inland destroying everything on their way.

The disaster destroyed over 151,000 buildings and killed at least 15,000 people, while 9,893 people still remain unaccounted for.

The government has previously said the damage from the disaster could total $184 billion.

Topics: NPP Fukushima Daiichi

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