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Some 14,000 "excess deaths" in the U.S. stem from radioactive fallout from the March 11 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactors in Japan, according to a peer-reviewed study by nonprofit group Radiation and Public Health Project.
The report, "An Unexpected Mortality Increase in the United States Follows Arrival of the Radioactive Plume from Fukushima: Is There a Correlation?" contends there was an uptick of deaths in the 14-week period after the Fukushima disaster that are reportedly tied to the radioactive fallout, and which the authors contend is comparable to the deaths in the aftermath of the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. The majority of the deaths, according to the study, were among U.S. infants younger than 1 year old, with a 1.8% increase for infant deaths in the spring compared to a decrease of 8.37% in the preceding 14 weeks.
"It raises concerns, and strongly suggests that health studies continue, to understand the true impact of Fukushima...