The Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: Lessons for Evidence Integration from a WADEM 2017 Presentation and Panel Discussion

Abstract

In April 2017, some of the health impacts of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and resultant Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster (Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan) were presented at the 19th Congress of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM; Madison, Wisconsin USA) in Toronto, Canada. A panel discussion was then opened by asking audience members about their experiences in their own countries, and how they would suggest taking steps to reach the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This paper summarizes the presentation and panel discussion, with a particular focus on the common problems identified in understanding and reducing health risks from disasters in multiple countries, such as the ethical and practical difficulties in decision making on evacuating vulnerable populations that arose similarly during the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and Hurricane Ike's approach to Galveston (Texas USA) in 2008. This paper also highlights the need for greater integration of research, for example through increased review and collation of evidence from different disaster settings to identify common problems and possible solutions, which was identified in this panel session as a precursor to fulfilling the goals of the Sendai Framework.Leppold C, Ochi S, Nomura S, Murray V. The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster: lessons for evidence integration from a WADEM 2017 presentation and panel discussion. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(4):424-427.

‘Life communication’ after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster: what experts need to learn from residential non-scientific rationality

“…The NPP accident was not a simple event of radiation and contamination: it was a combination of a series of events including mass evacuation, job losses, dangerous rumors and an aging population, among others, all of which may lead to health deterioration ( Fig. 2 ) [ 3 ]. Overall, experts tended to focus too much on radiation and cancer instead of appreciating a holistic view of health.…”

“…The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident was one of the largest CBRNE disasters in world history. It occurred in a society in which information was highly networked, and misunderstandings of health risks were potentially exacerbated by media outlets [ 3 ]. Such ‘media hype’ engendered public stigma against Fukushima immediately after the disaster [ 4 ] and interrupted channels of supply over a wide area around the NPP [ 5 ].…”

Awareness of Medical Radiologic Technologists of Ionizing Radiation and Radiation Protection

“…Therefore, in Japan, medical exposure exceeds exposure to natural radiation, indicating that high levels of medical exposure are remarkable worldwide. Japanese people experienced the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, the Tokaimura nuclear accident (the Japan Nuclear Fuel Conversion Co. criticality accident) [5], and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]; therefore, medical radiation exposure is likely to be of significant concern [16,17]. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident was a nuclear disaster that affected a wide area of eastern Japan, and many people outside of Fukushima Prefecture also suffered from anxiety about disaster exposure.…”

Public Health Preparedness for and Response to Nuclear Disasters: An Editorial

“…In 2011, resilience to nuclear disasters emerged as a core public health challenge. Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 not only showcased fundamental weaknesses in the country’s preparedness and responses to nuclear emergencies, but also highlighted the importance of focusing more attention on the management of nuclear disasters—at individual, community, and policy levels—in global disaster debates [ 1 ]. The challenges of the Fukushima disaster have shown that national and global policies on nuclear disaster management are in urgent need of reform and reinforcement.…”