Comprehensive Health Risk Management after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Abstract

Five years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident on 11 March 2011. Countermeasures aimed at human protection during the emergency period, including evacuation, sheltering and control of the food chain were implemented in a timely manner by the Japanese Government. However, there is an apparent need for improvement, especially in the areas of nuclear safety and protection, and also in the management of radiation health risk during and even after the accident. Continuous monitoring and characterisation of the levels of radioactivity in the environment and foods in Fukushima are now essential for obtaining informed consent to the decisions on living in the radio-contaminated areas and also on returning back to the evacuated areas once re-entry is allowed; it is also important to carry out a realistic assessment of the radiation doses on the basis of measurements. Until now, various types of radiation health risk management projects and research have been implemented in Fukushima, among which the Fukushima Health Management Survey is the largest health monitoring project. It includes the Basic Survey for the estimation of external radiation doses received during the first 4 months after the accident and four detailed surveys: thyroid ultrasound examination, comprehensive health check-up, mental health and lifestyle survey, and survey on pregnant women and nursing mothers, with the aim to prospectively take care of the health of all the residents of Fukushima Prefecture for a long time. In particular, among evacuees of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident, concern about radiation risk is associated with psychological stresses. Here, ongoing health risk management will be reviewed, focusing on the difficult challenge of post-disaster recovery and resilience in Fukushima.

A Systematic Review on the Research Progress and Evolving Trends of Occupational Health and Safety Management: A Bibliometric Analysis of Mapping Knowledge Domains

“…Enterprises should be willing to assist in medical treatment, carry out rehabilitation management (52), and provide compensation for employees (58) in the case of occupational diseases. Models and methods of comprehensive health management (59), employee participation management, electronic information intervention, OHS programs, and individualized health management will continue to be a focus for research.…”

Quality of Life and Intention to Return among Former Residents of Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture 9 Years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident

“…The frequencies of residents who felt that cancer would occur due to radiation exposure and that genetic effects would arise in the next generation due to living in Tomioka were significantly higher in groups 2 and 3 than in group 1. Many previous studies reported that the risk perception of radiation exposure in adults of Fukushima was closely associated with intention to return home [ 4 , 18 ] and psychological distress [ 5 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Here, we showed that residents who had either decided not to return or who were unsure about returning still have high anxiety about radiation exposure and health effects.…”

Radiation Exposure and Health Effects – is it Time to Reassess the Real Consequences?

“…The first of these comes under scrutiny in the paper by Yamashita [23] in this special issue and highlights the problems of using conservative estimations of radiation dose when trying to communicate potential health risks to the public. As discussed above, the dose of radiation received by individuals is of paramount importance when determining the risk of a health effect.…”

“…In response to the public concern about possible health consequences, a comprehensive medical surveillance study was established (reviewed in [23]). As the only radiobiological consequence of the previous nuclear power plant accident for the population at large had been shown to be thyroid cancer in the young, a comprehensive thyroid ultrasound examination programme in those aged under 19 years at exposure has been instigated [28].…”