
36 The Fukushima 2011 Disaster
Figure 5.1 Survival time and associated mode of death in humans after acute whole body
doses of gamma radiation (modified from Hobbs and McClellan 1986 and
UNSCEAR 1988).
Hematopoietic GI Tract Central nervous
depression denudation system disruption
1,000
e (h)
100
n survival ti
10
Me
1
Approximate dose (Gy)
1 10 100 1,000
material escaped from Fukushima when compared to Chernobyl (Whyte
2011). Others disagree and conclude that the Fukushima nuclear plant
released far more radiation than government estimates (Brumfi el 2011),
owing to under-reporting of spent nuclear fuel releases ...