Japan Evacuees: Clinics Deny Care Over Contagion Fears

Fearing contagion from exposure to radioactivity, Japanese shelters and clinics are rejecting hundreds of evacuees from near the Fukushima nuclear plant, reports the Telegraph. The institutions are requiring certificates from evacuees that show they haven’t faced exposure. Such concerns, however, are “completely irrational,” says a British expert advising the Japanese government. “This is a knee-jerk reaction based on the fear that these people are going to harm you.”

Among those denied treatment was an 8-year-old girl suffering from a skin rash, her father tells the newspaper. “I’m not surprised this sort of thing is happening,” says the expert, noting similar ostracism after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. The allegations come as seawater near the plant has been found to contain radioactive iodine, suggesting radiation from reactor cores is entering the Pacific. But the iodine will be “significantly diluted” before it enters the food chain, said an official. Click to read how fears about seafood safety are nevertheless rising.