Comments: lessons from the international collaboration

Title: Comments: lessons from the international collaboration

Author: Nagataki, Shigenobu

Reference: International Congress Series, 1234, p.95-102, May 2002

doi: 10.1016/S0531-5131(01)00599-4

Keywords: International collaboration; Thyroid cancer; Public understanding; Nagasaki University; Radiation Effects Research Foundation

Abstract: This paper will describe my personal experience in the investigation of childhood thyroid cancer following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. My experience started in 1987 when I was President of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine and held a symposium on “Radiation and the Thyroid” where the health effects of the Chernobyl accident were reported by an expert from the European Thyroid Association (ETA). In 1990, I joined the IAEA project and the Chernobyl Sasakawa Health and Medical Cooperation Project, followed by the WHO/IPHECA Project, and the projects of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan. In 1992, I participated as a member of the European Community Commission, the Nagasaki Association for Hibakushas’ Medical Care (NASHIM), the Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-Exposed (HICARE), and finally as the Chairman of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF).

In addition to a description of the results of each project, the results of a scientific investigation on the health effects of the Chernobyl accident will be summarized and the gap between the scientific results and the public understanding will be discussed. Finally, the study themes to advance scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity will be suggested.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531513101005994