"Radioactive Substances Detected in Hiroshima Survivor's Body Even After 70 Years"

There is a possibility that radioactive substances that entered the bodies of Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors may have affected their health over a long period. Research has found unusual traces of damage in lung tissue, referred to as "death balls."

Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome. Pexels

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According to Nagasaki Broadcasting Company (NBC) on April 20, a research team from Nagasaki University published a paper on these findings in an international academic journal.

The subject of the study was a woman who, at the age of eight, entered Hiroshima city three days after the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945 (specifically on August 9, 1945), and experienced so-called "entry exposure." She survived until the age of 78 but later developed oropharyngeal cancer and lung cancer and passed away. With her family’s consent, a post-mortem internal radiation exposure study was conducted.

The research team examined her organ tissues using an analytical technique that visually captures traces of radiation. As a result, traces of alpha particles-presumed to be from uranium-235, which is believed to have been used in the Hiroshima bomb-were detected in the liver and lungs.

In particular, in the lung cancer tissue, several cavities resembling circular areas where cells appeared to have disappeared were found. The researchers named these structures "death balls." Analysis revealed that the size of these cavities was larger than the typical range of radiation penetration. The team believes that fine uranium particles that entered the body remained for an extended period, continuously emitting radiation in all directions and persistently damaging surrounding cells.

Takatsugi Toshihiro, emeritus professor and co-researcher, explained, "This is a case that shows how long-term and serious the effects of internal radiation exposure can be on the human body."

Internal exposure refers to the entry of radioactive substances into the body through respiration or other pathways, where they accumulate in organs or tissues and have an effect. This is distinct from "external exposure," which refers to radiation exposure from outside the body.

Until now, the Japanese government has mainly focused on analyzing the impact of external radiation that occurred immediately after the atomic bomb explosion when assessing bomb-related damage, while the subsequent effects of internal exposure have been relatively limited in consideration. The research team raised the possibility that long-term internal exposure to radioactive microparticles may have contributed to the development of cancer in this case.

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