"Compulsory" health checks
James Annan
checks in Japan?
My understanding (based on something I read some time ago) is that it
was a legal requirement for companies to offer them to their staff,
but not a requirement for the staff to take them. Of course it could
be a company rule that they are taken, but I'm interested in the legal
position.
I've taken the pointless test in the past without complaining, but
this the dates all happen to be inconvenient for me, however the form
we were given claims that the law requires us to take the test. Plus,
in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared to 0.6%
in UK and 0.9% in the USA). I've already had more x-ray exposure in 3
years here than in the previous 30+ in the UK.
James
Elbow
"James Annan" <still_th...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c96ea403.04041...@posting.google.com...
I too have had more x-rays in the last 3 yrs here than I have had the
previous 30+ in the uk.
Ive had to have a health check every year while working for a Board Of
Education but all it was was a scan to look for TB.
Ryan Ginstrom
> this the dates all happen to be inconvenient for me, however the form
> we were given claims that the law requires us to take the test.
Ask to see the law. I would like to see it myself.
I get a flier in the mail each year from the city hall (or "sonyakuba" in my
case), telling me to go in for my kenkoushindan. If not actually showing up
were a criminal offense, I'd have been making big rocks into little rocks a
long time ago.
What I might do: explain how you have this really tough situation, and say
that you will get the checkup on your own. Then just kind of blow them off
after that. Be very vague each time.
But you should get your health checked once in a while. Maybe on trips back
to your home country.
> Plus,
> in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
> cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
> attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared to 0.6%
> in UK and 0.9% in the USA).
I would like to see the source for this, please.
--
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom
Murgi
> > in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
> > cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
> > attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared to 0.6%
> > in UK and 0.9% in the USA).
>
> I would like to see the source for this, please.
Me too!
Even though there is certainly a link to some cases and cancers, nobody
would admit to this one... and nobody can pinpoint the exact cause of a
cancer, unless you play with plutonium pellets.
Sigi
Junn Ohta
> checks in Japan?
Workers must have a medical examination once a year.
See Roudou-Anzen-Eisei-Hou 66jou (roughly as: Workers
Safety and Health Law) #66.
http://www.jil.go.jp/kikaku-qa/hourei/main/4/h3470100000570.html#J066000000
--
太田純(Junn Ohta) (株)リコー/新横浜事業所
oh...@sdg.mdd.ricoh.co.jp
James Annan
> "James Annan" <still_th...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > I've taken the pointless test in the past without complaining, but
> > this the dates all happen to be inconvenient for me, however the form
> > we were given claims that the law requires us to take the test.
>
> Ask to see the law. I would like to see it myself.
I may do. I've been quiet for a month or two, so I guess it's about
time I made a nuisance of myself. Might as well let them know I'm
still alive (and anyway, I've just got my new contract :-)
> > Plus,
> > in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
> > cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
> > attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared to 0.6%
> > in UK and 0.9% in the USA).
>
> I would like to see the source for this, please.
"Risk of cancer from diagnostic X-rays: estimates for the UK and 14
other countries", Amy Berrington de González, Sarah Darby. The Lancet,
Volume 363 Issue 9406 Page 345.
I just found that on the lancet web site - it happens to be free to
read (but you have to register). It was this news article that I saw
it mentioned in first: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3442113.stm
and it turns out that the 2.9% figure the BBC quote is actually for
men only, for women it is 3.8% and 3.2% is the overall figure. That
sounds like a whole lot of unneccessary cancer to me, and an annual
full chest x-ray of completely healthy people for the theoretical
possibility of TB must be a very poor bet.
James
James Annan
>>Can someone give me an informed opinion on the necessity of health
>>checks in Japan?
>
>
> Workers must have a medical examination once a year.
> See Roudou-Anzen-Eisei-Hou 66jou (roughly as: Workers
> Safety and Health Law) #66.
>
> http://www.jil.go.jp/kikaku-qa/hourei/main/4/h3470100000570.html#J066000000
Thanks! At last a "real" answer (no slight intended to those who offered
opinions and advice, but I really wanted to find out the law). My
japanese is rather limited, so can you confirm that it really says that
the workers have to have the examination, rather than just that one has
to be provided? What would the penalty be for not taking the test?
Since I will actually be back in my home country while this farce is
going on at work, perhaps I can just tell them that I saw a doctor while
I was there. Perhaps I really _will_ see a doctor, but it will be a much
simpler and faster afffair than in Japan. We don't just get a quick
once-over here, a whole troupe of doctors come on-site and there are eye
tests, blood and urine tests, the x-ray, height and weight measurements
and then at the end of it we are each given a list of numbers with no
explanation or advice even if the results are "poor" (according to their
classification).
James
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/
Ryan Ginstrom
> Junn Ohta wrote:
> > Workers must have a medical examination once a year.
> > See Roudou-Anzen-Eisei-Hou 66jou (roughly as: Workers
> > Safety and Health Law) #66.
> >
> >
http://www.jil.go.jp/kikaku-qa/hourei/main/4/h3470100000570.html#J066000000
>
>
> Thanks! At last a "real" answer (no slight intended to those who offered
> opinions and advice, but I really wanted to find out the law). My
> japanese is rather limited, so can you confirm that it really says that
> the workers have to have the examination, rather than just that one has
> to be provided? What would the penalty be for not taking the test?
It does say that employers must give health exams, and that employees must
take them. Several clauses give specific circumstances in which special
exams must be given, but it would appear that all employers must give at
least a basic health exam to their employees. However, the article does not
say how often the exams must be, or whether there is any penalty for not
taking one. I somehow doubt there is.
The law also says that if the employee does not wish to have an exam at the
location specified by the employer, then the employee can get the
medical/dental exam at the ministry-approved location of their choice.
--
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom
Ryan Ginstrom
> "Ryan Ginstrom" <gins...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<c5ddue$cfv9$1...@ID-101276.news.uni-berlin.de>...
>
> read (but you have to register). It was this news article that I saw
> it mentioned in first: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3442113.stm
> and it turns out that the 2.9% figure the BBC quote is actually for
> men only, for women it is 3.8% and 3.2% is the overall figure. That
Interesting, thanks. I personally sometimes wonder if the extra X-rays/CTs
are ways of earning some extra money by Japanese doctors in the presence of
mandated prices, sort of like prescribing way too much medicine.
--
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom
Raj Feridun
Annan) wrote:
>> > Plus,
>> > in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
>> > cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
>> > attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared to 0.6%
>> > in UK and 0.9% in the USA).
>> I would like to see the source for this, please.
>"Risk of cancer from diagnostic X-rays: estimates for the UK and 14
>other countries", Amy Berrington de González, Sarah Darby. The Lancet,
>Volume 363 Issue 9406 Page 345.
I wonder if this was included in their research results:
Raj
James Annan
> Interesting, thanks. I personally sometimes wonder if the extra X-rays/CTs
> are ways of earning some extra money by Japanese doctors in the presence of
> mandated prices, sort of like prescribing way too much medicine.
Well, the whole medical check is surely just a concealed subsidy from
the govt to the medical industry, just like the way we get more new PCs
than anyone can ever use. The medical set-up seems incredibly bloated
and inefficient, like just about everything else here. Since that
"everything else" includes my salary, I shouldn't really complain. Of
course, a comparison with the UK really is from the sublime to the
ridiculous, both in terms of healthcare and spending on scientific
research (my job).
Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson
Annan) wrote:
>and an annual
>full chest x-ray of completely healthy people for the theoretical
>possibility of TB must be a very poor bet.
Ahh, so that's why they do it. I was going to ask why. Next question
is is there any scientific evidence of effectiveness to support this
procedure?
Anyway, I got out of it once, as I said I'd just been for a chest
X-ray for another reason (the truth) so I didn't need another, so they
didn't give me one. Whether it was because they genuinely believed me,
or just didn't think it was worth the effort discussing further with
the gaigin, I don't know.
I was for another checkup just last week and did an ECG and a heart
echo, so I actually asked why they hadn't xrayed me, but they said it
wasn't needed, which I suppose is progress. I'll cop out of the xray
for this year's check too, as I've had my yearly dose from a CT scan
in January.
>James
Ken
James Annan
Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson wrote:
> On 12 Apr 2004 04:15:45 -0700, still_th...@hotmail.com (James
> Annan) wrote:
>
>
>>and an annual
>>full chest x-ray of completely healthy people for the theoretical
>>possibility of TB must be a very poor bet.
>
>
> Ahh, so that's why they do it. I was going to ask why. Next question
> is is there any scientific evidence of effectiveness to support this
> procedure?
Um...wrong question. This _is_ Japan we are talking about. There does
seem to be a bit of a TB problem here but of course it is the homeless
and unemployed who have the big risk and no employer's health check to
diagnose it.
I've only actually had the x-ray once or twice out of the three
check-ups so far, and no-one seemed to care when I missed it. The whole
check-up thing is so obviously a "must be done" process rather than any
genuine concern for the health of the staff, which is why I am so
unenthusiastic about devoting a half-day after my return to visiting
some medical facility to get poked and prodded by people with no useful
work to do. Especially if it is likely to actually be injurious to my
health.
mr.sumo.snr
news:c5ddue$cfv9$1...@ID-101276.news.uni-
> I get a flier in the mail each year from the city hall (or "sonyakuba" in
my
> case), telling me to go in for my kenkoushindan. If not actually showing
up
> were a criminal offense, I'd have been making big rocks into little rocks
a
> long time ago.
>
I too got the flier. Filled it out. Went for the tests. Worried a little
beforehand - mainly about how I was going to fit into a standard Japanese
hospital-issue health check uniform - AND which response I was going to
circle regarding the finger up the back passage optional examination.
On the day of the check - a Monday morning - there were 20 middle-aged women
and me - the only guy! Not so bad really - I'm teaching one of the women's
daughters now! And the procedures themselves have given me plenty of
adult-class conversation material for the next few months - finally me and
every other of my students over the age of 37 has one shared experience -
approached from a not dissimilar perspective.
Passing every test with flying colors - with the notable exception of the
'you're a fat bastard and better do something about it examination' -
certainly helps put a little sparkle in one's gait. PLUS - and I'm sure
Ryan would appreciate this, it greatly pleases other members of the family!
I said "yes" and I feel more like I do now than I did before.
--
jonathan
Junn Ohta
> the workers have to have the examination, rather than just that one has
> to be provided?
Yes. #66-5 says that.
You can read the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health,
to which Roudou-Anzen-Eisei-Hou refers, in English. See:
http://www.jicosh.gr.jp/english/law/IndustrialSafetyHealth_Ordinance/1-6.html
Article 44 in the above page is it.
> What would the penalty be for not taking the test?
I can't find any penalty for that. I'm quite sure that
there isn't.
Matthew Endo
James Annan <still_th...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Can someone give me an informed opinion on the necessity of health
> checks in Japan?
Yeah, like we are informed. Opinions, you can have. Have you heard of
the Japanese (perhaps) urban legend of the salaryman who "passed" his
health check and died of karoshi the next week/month?
> My understanding (based on something I read some time ago) is that it
> was a legal requirement for companies to offer them to their staff,
> but not a requirement for the staff to take them. Of course it could
> be a company rule that they are taken, but I'm interested in the legal
> position.
Revealing my age, I'll point out that drinking that barium for an upper
GI is much more dangerous than yer ordinary old x-ray. My doctor in the
U.S. recommended not doing it more than every third year or so. I
follow his advice. Oops, gave that one away, too.
However, for most seimei hoken plans, you need a semi current health
check. YMMV depending on your hoken company.
Be reminded that "compulsory" does not equal "penalty".
--
Matt
ma...@gol.com
Hokousha
> Since I will actually be back in my home country while this farce is
> going on at work, perhaps I can just tell them that I saw a doctor while
> I was there. Perhaps I really _will_ see a doctor, but it will be a much
> simpler and faster afffair than in Japan. We don't just get a quick
> once-over here, a whole troupe of doctors come on-site and there are eye
> tests, blood and urine tests, the x-ray, height and weight measurements
> and then at the end of it we are each given a list of numbers with no
> explanation or advice even if the results are "poor" (according to their
> classification).
Another interesting question is, "Who gets the results?" Do they go to
the company or to only the patient? For a while I was working at a
large company that tried to push everyone to take exams, but
apparently all of the results went to the company, which then
distributed them to us. This struck me as a bad idea, so I just
ignored the whole thing. No problem.
Tim
James Annan
> Another interesting question is, "Who gets the results?" Do they go to
> the company or to only the patient?
Dunno, they certainly get sent to us but maybe the company gets to see
them too...not that anyone would read them, it's just a form that has to
be filled.
Anyway, acccording to the website someone posted, the X-ray (and in fact
most of the rest) "may be omitted if the physician deems them
unnecessary" and we've already found one who does just that (Bluff
Clinic, Yokohama). So we can go and have a minimal check-up with him at
our convenience, and at least the money will be serving a somewhat
useful purpose (non-profit clinic to serve the needs of the
non-japanese-speaking community).
I mentioned the x-ray research at work today and several people said
they had also complained and/or didn't want to get that bit of the test
done. Interestingly, all but one of them had lived abroad for some time.
Michael Cash
Annan) brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:
Just do what I do. I go, but I refuse to take any tests I don't want
to take. The company has never complained. Sometimes they tell me that
I *must* choose between a couple of options for one particular type of
test. I tell them that I'm not going to take it. They insist I must.
So I pick one, then at the hospital tell them that I'm not going to
take it. I get funny looks from the nurses, but there have never been
any repercussions from my employer over this.
--
Michael Cash
"I am sorry, Mr. Cash, but we are unable to accept your rap sheet in lieu of
a high school transcript."
Dr. Howard Sprague
Dean of Admissions
Mount Pilot College
Michael Cash
<gins...@hotmail.com> brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:
>
>"James Annan" <still_th...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> I've taken the pointless test in the past without complaining, but
>> this the dates all happen to be inconvenient for me, however the form
>> we were given claims that the law requires us to take the test.
>
>Ask to see the law. I would like to see it myself.
I've seen it once, but can't recall the exact wording. It is something
to the effect of "Employers must provide for health checks for all
employees at least once a year". Nothing which says the employee must
take it, just that the employer must provide it. No point trying to
split that particular hair with an employer, though. It's a fine
distinction that seems to be lost on everyone.
Hospitals make a good business out of this, and employees get run
through in an assembly line process which makes it very apparent that
the hospital staff really doesn't give a flying shit what your health
condition is, just so long as they get to bill your company for the
check.
One important thing to remember is that ****ALL**** information from
the check is sent to employers. Privacy is right out the window.
My personal recommendation is to take a stance of "If there's
something wrong with me, it's your job to find it, not my job to tell
you about it." Any genuine concerns I might have I'll take a fucking
day off and go see a sawbones on my own dime.
Michael Cash
brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:
>James Annan <still_th...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<407a805a$0$23278$44c9...@news3.asahi-net.or.jp>...
I've had them through three companies. At each one, the results were
sent to the employer, who then handed them over to the employees.
Declan Murphy
They are sent to the company. AFAIK there are no official guidelines
regarding privacy. I have never read an employee's results, but I do get
the job of handing them out. They are not sealed, and it would of course
be easy to peruse the info first.
FWIW, a certain extremely large company that may or not make motor
vehicles once decided not to send some of its employees on further
business trips to a certain southeast asian country on the basis that
the health results showed a certain sexual transmitted disease. It was
an open secret as to why the staff were not sent on future business
trips, but while the company had no problem sharing the information
amongst the members of the personnel department, there was no similar
sharing of information with the family members of the afflicted staff.
Privacy schmivacy.
--
"Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit/ No, don't you give
me none more of that Old Janx Spirit/ For my head will fly, my tongue
will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die/ Won't you pour me one more of
that sinful Old Janx Spirit"
Matthew Endo
James Annan <still_th...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Another interesting question is, "Who gets the results?" Do they go to
> > the company or to only the patient?
>
> Dunno, they certainly get sent to us but maybe the company gets to see
> them too...not that anyone would read them, it's just a form that has to
> be filled.
Ha. Read Mike's post.
> Anyway, acccording to the website someone posted, the X-ray (and in fact
> most of the rest) "may be omitted if the physician deems them
> unnecessary" and we've already found one who does just that (Bluff
> Clinic, Yokohama). So we can go and have a minimal check-up with him at
> our convenience, and at least the money will be serving a somewhat
> useful purpose (non-profit clinic to serve the needs of the
> non-japanese-speaking community).
You really better check if the company will pay. For example, my
company has a list of certain clinics that we can use. For the annual
health check, the employee pays 1,000 yen. The company insurance pays
the rest. For reference, my friend got a physical exam (no insurance)
and paid over 20,000 yen, don't remember exactly how much it was.
How much is a physical exam at Bluff Clinic?
--
Matt
ma...@gol.com
Murgi
> sent to the employer, who then handed them over to the employees.
Of course, unopened... I suppose.
But who knows whether the company also receives the precise results of your
health condition in an additional letter?
Sigi
Declan Murphy
Sigi, a company that wants to know the precise results WILL know them.
From a privacy standpoint, its a ridiculous situation.
I got an additional surprise this year. As well as the health check
shindig (as an employee of my company I do the health check tango too) I
am now required to do an extra and separate test because I am running a
bar as a side business. Since I am the registered
shokuhineiseikanrininsha, apparently I need to submit a stool sample
twice yearly. How exactly I'm to gather this sample isn't something I've
worked out the logistics of, given that there isn't a Japanese style
toilet anywhere closeby that I know of. I asked if giving the sample
this wasn't a little strange in this day and age - given that HACCP and
other techniques will be more vital - but apparently the powers that be
have declared that it is the destiny of some unfortunate young boffin in
a white suit down at the Okazaki City Medical Association Public Health
Center to sift through my sample for 0-157, salmonella and the like.
I shit you not.
James Annan
> s.c.j. group trimmed.
>
> You really better check if the company will pay. For example, my
> company has a list of certain clinics that we can use. For the annual
> health check, the employee pays 1,000 yen. The company insurance pays
> the rest. For reference, my friend got a physical exam (no insurance)
> and paid over 20,000 yen, don't remember exactly how much it was.
>
> How much is a physical exam at Bluff Clinic?
Depends what they do. But given that we have decent health insurance
and will certainly not need the x-ray (presumably the most expensive
component) I can't imagine it will break the bank. With luck it will
be little more than a weight check and "how do you feel?". I suspect
that the company will pay anyway, they are really very generous but in
return tend to think they should control our lives...
James
mr.sumo.snr
news:407C8BFF...@hotmail.com...
> Murgi wrote:
> >>I've had them through three companies. At each one, the results were
> >>sent to the employer, who then handed them over to the employees.
> >
> > Of course, unopened... I suppose.
> > But who knows whether the company also receives the precise results of
your
> > health condition in an additional letter?
> >
> > Sigi
>
> Sigi, a company that wants to know the precise results WILL know them.
> From a privacy standpoint, its a ridiculous situation.
>
> I got an additional surprise this year. As well as the health check
> shindig (as an employee of my company I do the health check tango too) I
> am now required to do an extra and separate test because I am running a
> bar as a side business. Since I am the registered
> shokuhineiseikanrininsha, apparently I need to submit a stool sample
> twice yearly. How exactly I'm to gather this sample isn't something I've
> worked out the logistics of, given that there isn't a Japanese style
> toilet anywhere closeby that I know of. I asked if giving the sample
> this wasn't a little strange in this day and age - given that HACCP and
> other techniques will be more vital - but apparently the powers that be
> have declared that it is the destiny of some unfortunate young boffin in
> a white suit down at the Okazaki City Medical Association Public Health
> Center to sift through my sample for 0-157, salmonella and the like.
>
> I shit you not.
>
My wife informs me that the 'pros' recommend sitting on a Western-style
crapper back-to-front and then perform the 'collection' from whatever sticks
to the pan! If that fails then crapping on a few sheets of newspaper is
also a popular alternative - I too shit you not!
--
jonathan
Declan Murphy
Bullshit. There are "pros" at this kind of stuff? I don't think there is
a toilet cubicle in this country where a gaigin could spread a newspaper
on the floor, spread the cheeks & contribute to science, and do so with
the door closed. "Pros" my arse.
Matthew Endo
> > How much is a physical exam at Bluff Clinic?
>
> Depends what they do. But given that we have decent health insurance
> and will certainly not need the x-ray (presumably the most expensive
> component) I can't imagine it will break the bank.
What kind of insurance do you have?
--
Matt
ma...@gol.com
Chris Kern
<llanelli...@yahoo.com> posted the following:
>My wife informs me that the 'pros' recommend sitting on a Western-style
>crapper back-to-front and then perform the 'collection' from whatever sticks
>to the pan! If that fails then crapping on a few sheets of newspaper is
>also a popular alternative - I too shit you not!
Just sit on a western-style toilet and hold a ziploc bag underneath
you. Don't miss.
-Chris
Declan Murphy
My charitable gift has to be presented in a small plastic tube, the
aperture to which is about 9mm in diameter. Ziploc? I'd prefer to cut
out as many intermediary steps as possible on this one.
Louise Bremner
A sheet of clingfilm might be easier--just don't stretch it so tightly,
there's no room for a pile-up under you.
________________________________________________________________________
Louise Bremner (log at gol dot com)
If you want a reply by e-mail, don't write to my Yahoo address!
James Annan
> What kind of insurance do you have?
Um...the kind that came with the job and seems to pay about 80% of the
bills (the % appears to vary with some items, I have no idea how it is
really meant to work). My employer is quasi-governmental so the perks
and conditions are generally quite good.
Drew Hamilton
>How exactly I'm to gather this sample isn't something I've
>worked out the logistics of, given that there isn't a Japanese style
>toilet anywhere closeby that I know of.
Can you buy those disposable metal foil pie pans in Japan?
The one time that I have had to submit a stool sample, that put me off eating
pie for months.
- awh
Declan Murphy
> In article <407C8BFF...@hotmail.com>, Declan Murphy wrote:
>
>>How exactly I'm to gather this sample isn't something I've
>>worked out the logistics of, given that there isn't a Japanese style
>>toilet anywhere closeby that I know of.
>
> Can you buy those disposable metal foil pie pans in Japan?
Yes
> The one time that I have had to submit a stool sample, that put me off eating
> pie for months.
>
> - awh
Gross. Besides, metal foil pie pans cannot be flushed down the loo, and
I'm buggered if I'm going to clean one and then put it out for
recycling. Though it might give the local gomi nazi a welcome whiff.
Matthew Endo
> > What kind of insurance do you have?
>
> Um...the kind that came with the job and seems to pay about 80% of the
> bills
That insurance does not seem to cover physical exams, unless they are
scheduled and arranged by the company (kenkou shindan). That was the
point of my previous post.
Good luck,
--
Matt
ma...@gol.com
James Annan
Welll, since we cannot attend the originally scheduled exams, I expect
that the company will be prepared to pay for separate one (unless the
_rules_ forbid it, of course). In any case, as I said, a weight and BP
check is hardly going to break the bank.
Matthew Endo
> Welll, since we cannot attend the originally scheduled exams, I expect
> that the company will be prepared to pay for separate one (unless the
> _rules_ forbid it, of course). In any case, as I said, a weight and BP
> check is hardly going to break the bank.
That's why I advise to double check. I can't see wasting 10-20,000 yen
on visit to the doc.
--
Matt
ma...@gol.com
Michael Cash
brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:
>> I've had them through three companies. At each one, the results were
>> sent to the employer, who then handed them over to the employees.
>
>Of course, unopened... I suppose.
Unopened....if that means "never sealed in the first place"
>But who knows whether the company also receives the precise results of your
>health condition in an additional letter?
The only thing they don't include in the report is the number of
wrinkles my asshole has.
Raj Feridun
wrote:
>> > Plus,
>> > in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
>> > cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
>> > attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared to 0.6%
>> > in UK and 0.9% in the USA).
>> I would like to see the source for this, please.
>Me too!
>Even though there is certainly a link to some cases and cancers, nobody
>would admit to this one... and nobody can pinpoint the exact cause of a
>cancer, unless you play with plutonium pellets.
>Sigi
http://www.medinfo.ufl.edu/other/cameron/rads.html
Raj
John Yamamoto-Wilson
>>> in the last year I learnt that Japan has by far the highest rate for
>>> cancer caused by excessive x-ray usage (2.9% of all cancers are
>>> attributable to this cause, which means 7,500 cases, compared
>>> to 0.6% in UK and 0.9% in the USA).
Ryan Ginstrom wrote:
>> I would like to see the source for this, please.
Raj Feridun wrote:
> http://www.medinfo.ufl.edu/other/cameron/rads.html
That site suggests entirely the opposite, making the claim that "A-bomb
survivors who received a dose less than the equivalent of 60 years of
background showed no increase in the incidence of cancer. Survivors in that
dose range tended to be healthier than the unexposed Japanese. That is,
their death from all causes was lower than for the unexposed Japanese. The
improved health of those with low doses more than compensated for the
radiation induced cancer deaths so that A-bomb survivors as a group are
living longer on the average than the unexposed Japanese controls."
If that's correct we'd all do well to take up as many chances of being
x-rayed as possible.
--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com (relaunched)