Fukushimaはワースト10ではない

他の用事のついでに水戸芸術館の『ダレン・アーモンド　追考』を観てきました。30秒あたりにあるLess than Zeroという作品でノリリスクというロシアの都市を取り上げた作品が登場します。ニッケル鉱山がある都市で汚染のためか閉鎖都市となっていて、外国人などの来訪が制限されているようです。

そのつながりで発見したのが以下のレポートです。世界最大の汚染場所として10選ばれていました。

New Report Cites the World's Worst Polluted Places
Top Ten Toxic Threats in 2013: Cleanup, Progress, and Ongoing Challenges

Nov. 4, 2013, New York, NY - Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross Switzerland have published the 2013 report of the world's worst polluted places, The Top Ten Toxic Threats: Cleanup, Progress, and Ongoing Challenges. The report presents a new list of the top ten polluted places and provides updates on sites previously published by Blacksmith and Green Cross. A range of pollution sources and contaminants are cited, including hexavalent chromium from tanneries and heavy metals released from smelting operations. The report estimates that sites like those listed in the top ten pose a health risk to more than 200 million people in low- and medium-income countries.

その中にノリリスクも入っていました。どうやら鉱山関連での汚染が原因で選ばれることが多そうです。

Progress Made, Much More Required
The authors of the report explain that significant progress has been made at many of the original top ten sites. As a result, several of these have been removed from the list. New sites mentioned include Agbogbloshie, an e-waste processing site in Accra, Ghana, and Kalimantan, Indonesia, which has become contaminated with mercury resulting from small scale gold mining.

The World's Worst Polluted Places in 2013 (unranked)
Agbogbloshie, Ghana
Chernobyl*, Ukraine
Citarum River, Indonesia
Dzershinsk*, Russia
Hazaribagh, Bangladesh
Kabwe*, Zambia
Kalimantan, Indonesia
Matanza Riachuelo, Argentina
Niger River Delta, Nigeria
Norilsk*, Russia

レポートでは福島についても囲み記事として特別に取り上げられていましたが、福島がランクインしないほど汚染されている地域が世界にはこんなにあるのかというのが率直な感想です。チェルノブイリがランクインして、福島がランクインしていないのはどういう点か、そういう視点でレポートを読んでみるつもりです。

A SPECIAL NOTE ON FUKUSHIMA
The Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred in March 2011 was one of the worst the world has ever seen. The damage from a powerful tsunami in the region caused massive equipment failures leading to a partial meltdown of the plant and the release of radioactive materials into the surrounding environment. Despite a quick reaction to curtail the spread of radiation and minimize the damage, over 2 years have passed since the accident and radioactive materials are still seeping into the surrounding environment and the Pacific Ocean. In September 2013, estimates put the amount of polluted water dumped into the sea at just over 1,000 tons.17 It is currently believed that the plume of radioactive cesium-137 released by the disaster could begin flowing into the U.S. coastal waters starting in early 2014. Additionally, a 2013 WHO report predicts that for populations living around the Fukushima nuclear power plant there is a 70% higher risk of developing thyroid cancer for girls exposed as infants, a 7% higher risk of leukemia in males exposed as infants, a 6% higher risk of breast cancer in females exposed as infants and a 4% higher risk, overall, of developing solid cancers for females.

Green Cross Switzerland has a number of ongoing interventions at the site. These include “Therapy Camps” for children and adolescents. Here they receive medical and psychological care in a healthy and clean environment. Interventions also include those aimed at families to help them adopt simple practices to limit their exposure to dangerous radioactivity.

レポート自体にも目を通してみたいと思います。

（補足）
弁解がましいですが「福島なんてたいしたことがない」という視点で書いた記事ではありません。世界には福島以上に汚染されている地域があるという驚きから衝動的にこのブログを書きました。幸いこのレポートは汚染対策についても取り上げていますので、どうい対策が取られているのか、そういうのも含めて学んでいきたいです。