Development of an Information Package of Radiation Risk in Beef After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Hosono, Hiromi; Kumagai, Yuko; Sekizaki, Tsutomu

doi:10.1007/978-4-431-54328-2_17

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…People's risk perception of radiological contamination is extremely high in relation to food supply [17]. Research shows that consumers may avoid consuming products from affected areas in the aftermath of an accident until years after the accident, despite safety guarantees issued by authorities [6,16,18]. This occurs even when products are contaminated below legal norms and the level of contamination is similar to naturally occurring radiation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Communicate Food Safety after Radiological Contamination: The Effectiveness of Numerical and Narrative News Messages

Wolf

Perko

Thijssen

2020

IJERPH

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Food risk and the safety of foodstuffs in the aftermath of contamination are highly sensitive issues to communicate. Food risks receive extensive attention from the news media, which requires messages to be carefully drafted to minimize harm and avoid unnecessary boycotts. Once a food risk is deemed eliminated, communication efforts must rebuild trust among consumers. The latter is a particularly difficult task after radiological contamination. This study tests whether numerical messages, narrative messages, or messages combining both elements are more effective in persuading the public to consume foodstuffs from Fukushima, a region that continues to battle stigma since the nuclear accident in 2011. We employ a survey-embedded experiment on a sample of the general Belgian population (N = 1085), during which respondents are presented with a mock news article presenting either a (1) numerical, (2) narrative, or (3) a combined message and test their subsequent evaluation of the article. We find that the numerical message leads to significantly higher perceived credibility and message acceptance than both the combined and the narrative message. Furthermore, we find that attitudes towards nuclear energy have a strong independent effect on message acceptance and evaluation, with those respondents who report a more positive stance towards nuclear energy more readily accepting the message. Food risk and safety communication may thus benefit from adopting a more detached, numerical approach for sensitive issues.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Communicate Food Safety after Radiological Contamination: The Effectiveness of Numerical and Narrative News Messages

Wolf

Perko

Thijssen

2020

IJERPH

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“…Meanwhile, outside this zone, radioactive Cesium (Cs) was detected in foods at concentrations exceeding the reference limit. Therefore, food shipments from parts of Fukushima Prefecture were restricted to allay concerns about foods with radionuclide ( 7 , 8 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intestinal Bacteria as Powerful Trapping Lifeforms for the Elimination of Radioactive Cesium

et al. 2019

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In March 2011, an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant led to major problems, including the release of radionuclides such as Cesium (Cs)-137 into the environment. Ever since this accident, Cs-137 in foods has become a serious problem. In this study, we determined the concentration of Cs-137 in the feces, urine, and ruminal contents of cattle and demonstrated the possibility of its elimination from the body by intestinal bacteria. The results revealed a high Cs-137 concentration in the feces; in fact, this concentration was higher than that in skeletal muscles and other samples from several animals. Furthermore, intestinal bacteria were able to trap Cs-137, showing an uptake ratio within the range of 38–81% in vitro. This uptake appeared to be mediated through the sodium–potassium (Na+-K+) ion pump in the bacterial cell membrane. This inference was drawn based on the fact that the uptake ratio of Cs-137 was decreased in media with high potassium concentration. In addition, it was demonstrated that intestinal bacteria hindered the trapping of Cs-137 by the animal. Cattle feces showed high concentration of Cs-137 and intestinal bacteria trapped Cs-137. This study is the first report showing that intestinal bacteria contribute to the elimination of Cs-137 from the body.

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“…Following the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant accident that occurred in March of 2011 in Japan, the world responded with concerns towards the radioactivity contamination of Japanese food and a subsequent decrease in the purchase of Japanese food [ 1 – 3 ]. Where the accident had occurred, the in-food levels of radioactive cesium were strengthened to 100 Bq/kg (April 2012) by the government of Japan, which was followed by the Korean government’s mirroring of these regulations for Japanese food products (including dairy products) in Korea, strengthening general food products from 370 Bq/kg to 100 Bq/kg, and milk and baby’s food products (including baby formula) from 370 Bq/kg to 50 Bq/kg.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with the risk perception and purchase decisions of Fukushima-related food in South Korea

Lee

Seo

Song³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the risk level perceived by Koreans on the radioactive contamination of Japanese food that is being distributed in Korea remains high. Many of these perceptions are based on subjective risk perception rather than an objective measure with scientific evidence, which makes communicating risks more difficult; therefore, it is critical to understand factors associated with risk perception for effective risk communication. In this study, we identified variables that are associated with buying tendencies and opinions about the regulatory policy of Japanese seafood after the accident. A survey was conducted with 1045 adults aged over 20 years in Korea. The majority (68.8%) responded that they would not purchase Japanese seafood when radioactivity levels in the food were non-detectable. Moreover, 82.2% responded that the current levels of import restrictions on Japanese seafood must be maintained. Despite many concerns regarding the exposure to radiation and the effects from food products following the Fukushima accident, the opportunities to encounter and to collect correct information remain limited and average radioactive knowledge scores were low (3.63 out of 9). Of the various characteristics associated with purchase decisions and agreement on the current import restraints of Japanese seafood, trust levels in the government and the mass media for providing information on radioactivity were major factors that influenced risk perception. While the scope of this study was limited to seafood, it is very closely tied to daily lives, where we revealed differences about risk perceptions and agreement on import restraints of Japanese seafood per a complex mixture of individual characteristics and the surrounding environment. These results provide useful information to understand the risk perception of the potential radioactive contamination of food and to predict the public’s responses to food consumption and import restraint policies due to nuclear accidents in neighboring countries.

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Development of an Information Package of Radiation Risk in Beef After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

How to Communicate Food Safety after Radiological Contamination: The Effectiveness of Numerical and Narrative News Messages

How to Communicate Food Safety after Radiological Contamination: The Effectiveness of Numerical and Narrative News Messages

Intestinal Bacteria as Powerful Trapping Lifeforms for the Elimination of Radioactive Cesium

Factors associated with the risk perception and purchase decisions of Fukushima-related food in South Korea

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