In March 2011, Japan was struck by an earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 20,000 people in the eastern part of the country. The tsunami also slammed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, located in Fukushima Prefecture, disabling cooling systems and leading to fuel meltdowns in three of the six units.

The report, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), concluded that for the general population inside and outside of Japan “the predicted risks are low and no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates are anticipated.”

However, the report also notes that the risk of specific cancers for the population living in the most affected parts of the Fukushima Prefecture is slightly higher.

“The primary concern identified in this report is related to specific cancer risks linked to particular locations and demographic factors,” said WHO Director for Public Health and Environment Maria Neira.

“A breakdown of data, based on age, gender and proximity to the nuclear plant, does show a higher cancer risk for those located in the most contaminated parts. Outside these parts – even in locations inside Fukushima Prefecture – no observable increases in cancer incidence are expected.”

For people in the most contaminated area, the report estimates that there is a 70 per cent higher risk of females exposed as infants of developing thyroid cancer over their lifetimes.

In addition, the risk of leukemia increased by 7 per cent for males exposed as infants, and for infant females there is a six per cent higher risk of contracting breast cancer. The report also notes that one third of the emergency workers who were inside the Fukushima nuclear power plant have an increased risk of cancer.

“The WHO report underlines the need for long-term health monitoring of those who are at high risk, along with the provision of necessary medical follow-up and support services,” said Dr. Neira. “This will remain an important element in the public health response to the disaster for decades.”

The report, ‘Health Risk Assessment from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami based on preliminary dose estimation,’ was carried out by scientific experts on radiation, epidemiology and public health, among others, who estimated risks in the general population in Fukushima Prefecture, the rest of Japan and the rest of the world.

Experts also stated that the psychosocial impact of the nuclear disaster may have a long-term consequence on the health and well-being of the population, and this should be addressed as part of the overall response along with the environmental impact to prevent future incidents of this nature.

“In addition to strengthening medical support and services, continued environmental monitoring, in particular of food and water supplies, backed by the enforcement of existing regulations, is required to reduce potential radiation exposure in the future,” said the Acting Director for WHO’s Food Safety and Zoonosis Department, Angelika Tritscher.

“Iran will build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr next year,” Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said, AFP reported.

The announcement comes in the wake of nuclear talks in Baghdad on May 23-24 between six world powers and Iran known as P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany).

 Those talks collapsed but have agreed to meet again in Moscow on June 18-19.

The existing Bushehr nuclear plant was started by German engineers in the 1970s before Iran’s Islamic Revolution and was completed by Russia, which supplies fuel for it and helps keep the facility running, according to Reuters.

Tehran insists that it has no reason to suspend its enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, one of the key demands of world powers on Wednesday and Thursday in Baghdad, as it stated that it produces only as much of the 20 percent fuel as it needs.

Meanwhile, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog has failed to convince Iran of the need to inspect a military base suspected of housing nuclear weapons’ experiments, Iranian media quoted the head of country’s atomic agency as saying on Saturday.

“The reasons and document have still not been presented by the agency to convince us to give permission for this visit,” the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said. Tehran denies accusations that it is developing atom bombs, and insists it’s for peaceful means.