Fukushima monkeys show possible effects of radiation, study suggests
The Japan Times | July 25, 2014
Monkeys near the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have lower blood cell counts than cousins living farther away, possibly because of radiation exposure, a study said Thursday.
A Japanese research team wrote in the journal Nature Scientific Reports that although they could not prove the link, the blood levels 'might likely be the result of exposure to some form of radioactive material'.
Fewer blood cells could make the monkeys more prone to disease, they said, and 'may suggest that the immune system has been compromised to some extent'.
The team had compared white and red blood cell levels in macaques living in a forest area of the city of Fukushima, 70 km (43 miles) from the nuclear plant, with that of 31 monkeys living 400 km away in the Shimokita Peninsula.
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