FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN ? Cases of thyroid cancer among children living close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant have increased fiftyfold since 2011, four Japanese researchers said Tuesday in a report.

Since the meltdown in March 2011, annual thyroid cancer rates in Fukushima Prefecture have been 20 to 50 times the national level, said a team led by professor of environmental epidemiology at Okayama University Toshihide Tsuda.

The findings were based on screenings of around 370,000 Fukushima residents aged 18 or younger at the time of the accident. The study said the increase ?is unlikely to be explained by a screening surge.? The researchers point to radiation exposure as a possible factor in the increase in thyroid cancer cases.

The Fukushima Prefecture Government identified 104 thyroid cancer cases as of late August.

An area extending about 20 kilometers from the nuclear plant has been declared an exclusion zone.

The government and some experts question the relation between these cases of thyroid cancer and the radioactive iodine released during the Fukushima disaster because they say the amount was smaller than the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

----------------------------------------??---------------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.

Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f

Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus