Monkeys in Fukushima Start Showing Signs of Radiation Exposure
19 October 2018 19:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Fukushima - Wild monkeys that live in Fukushima forest, Japan, close to the nuclear meltdown, have started to change. Based on the research of University of South Carolina, the United States, the number of blood cells of these monkeys has started to decrease. As a result, they are vulnerable to infectious diseases.
Researchers found signs of radiation exposure on 61 monkeys that live 70-kilometre away from the nuclear plantation in Fukushima Daiichi. The result, their white and red blood cells have dropped compared to healthy monkeys in Shimokita.
"The low blood cell counts could be a sign of a compromised immune system and could potentially make the monkeys vulnerable to infectious diseases," said Shinichi Hayama, head of the research, as reported by Live Science, last Thursday.
Another researcher, Tim Mousseau, uttered that if it could happen to monkeys, these dangerous signs offer similar possibility of occurring to humans.
However, monkeys have higher level of radiation than what they have found in humans in the same location. This is because monkeys consume fruit, mushrooms or insects that have been contaminated; on the other hand, humans are more 'selective'.
RINDU P. HESTYA | LIVE SCIENCE