Repères - N°48 / March 2021 - The IRSN magazine - 19

HEALTH

1. Repeated prophylaxis with stable iodine
in an accident situation/Prophylaxie répétée
par l'iode stable en situation accidentelle.
2. WHO (2018), Thyroid Health Monitoring
after Nuclear Accidents.
Find out more:

PRIODAC irsn.fr/priodac-EN

INTERNATIONAL
Shamisen project

In favor of a radiation protection culture
© Kyodo/MAXPPP

gives the impression that there are more
cases and that they are due to radioactivity.
The occurrence of cancer is actually stable.
Most of these nodules are not radiation-induced, " explained Laurier.
This proactive choice is gradually revealing
its flaws. Screening leads to overdiagnosis,
causes worry, causes more ablation, and
exposes people to unnecessary hormone
therapy. Ultimately, there is no clinical
benefit; therefore, the experts issued new
recommendations. There is now consensus
on waiting and monitoring the tumor
nodule without operating on it. Japan is
adopting this strategy for its final screening
campaigns. Japan's experience is instructive. In 2011, the Fukushima prefecture
did not have a cancer registry. If it had had
one, it could have used it to identify a possible resurgence of thyroid cancer.
France has a national childhood cancer
registry but does not cover the entire
country for adults. Such registries help
to evaluate the health risk and develop
dialogue with civil society. The Shamisen
project recommends implementing them
(see opposite). n

The Shamisen project recommends developing a radiation protection culture.
In Tokyo, local authorities received training on iodine tablet distribution to residents in 2014.

wenty-eight recommendations to improve
dosimetric, health, and epidemiological
surveillance after a nuclear accident are the
takeaways from the European Shamisen project
initiated in 2015 that included IRSN as a
participant. One principle conditions all the others:
to do more good than harm. Health surveillance
must respect the independence and dignity
of populations. The project encourages training
of personnel-medical or not-according
to the different phases of an accident, developing
evacuation and shelter-in-place protocols,

and supporting populations who desire to take their
own measurements of radioactivity
in the environment, in food, etc. The authors
recommend developing, with the help of experts,
mobile applications and easy-to-use dosimetry
devices. Nineteen European and Japanese partners
are involved in Shamisen, representing around
sixty specialists in radiation protection, dosimetry,
sociology, medicine, psychology, and more.
Find out more:

Shamisen irsn.fr/Shamisen-EN

IN A NUTSHELL
Internal contamination: measuring equipment that adapts to everybody

Versatile
Portik works in all positions,
unlike boxers that require the
person to be seated.

The Portik detector
is transportable
Disassembled for transport, it
can be ready in just a few hours
to round out the array of mobile
resources already on site: lab
trucks and light whole body
radiometry vehicles (boxers).
* IRSN patent FR3050281

gamma
rays

thyroid

Portik is equipped
with telescopic legs
to adjust it to each
individual.

Freestanding
Combined with a
laptop computer, it can
be used without an
external power source.

USB cable

Spectrometry
software acquires
and analyzes
gamma spectra.
lungs

Rapid triage
Set up as close as possible
to operational emergency
centers to facilitate prompt
treatment of contaminated
individuals, who are placed
in private rooms or a tent.

The Portik detector is suitable for both a child and a wheelchair user and measures internal contamination.
This portable* whole body counter can be deployed quickly to a disaster area so that people requiring medical attention are
identified without delay.

Page 19 - Repères No. 48 - March 2021

https://www.irsn.fr/priodac-EN https://www.irsn.fr/Shamisen-EN http://www.irsn.fr/Shamisen

Repères - N°48 / March 2021 - The IRSN magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Repères - N°48 / March 2021 - The IRSN magazine