Mental health and disaster related attitudes among Japanese after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster

2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 688-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuval Palgi ◽  
Menachem Ben-Ezra ◽  
Or Aviel ◽  
Yonit Dubiner ◽  
Evelyn Baruch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

scholarly journals Dealing with Community Mental Health post the Fukushima disaster: lessons learnt for the COVID-19 pandemic

QJM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (11) ◽  
pp. 787-788
Author(s):  
M Momoi ◽  
M Murakami ◽  
N Horikoshi ◽  
M Maeda
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Telephone Counseling ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Resource Information ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
The People ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Disaster

Abstract Under the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigation of psychological distress is required. At present, the demand for remote intervention for the numerous affected people is increasing, and telephonic support can be useful. Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, we have been developing a large-scale telephonic support system and implementing brief interventions for the Fukushima people identified at risk of psychological problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this article, we report the lessons from the Fukushima disaster that can be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic and describe how the telephonic intervention facilitates easier access to psychological help for people with a broad range of psychological distress who are not able to visit treatment or care resources. In our telephonic intervention, we first sent a mental health and lifestyle survey to the people affected by the Fukushima disaster. The counselor team then provided telephonic intervention to high-risk persons as identified on the basis of the survey results. The individuals had expected to receive from the telephonic system help mainly in the form of stress-coping methods, social resource information such as schools, public offices or medical facilities, and lifestyle advice. Since we also experienced that psychological care for telephone counselors was necessary to mitigate the substantial emotional burden, we used the following three approaches: (i) regular supervision of the telephone counseling methods, (ii) seminars for improvement of counseling skills and (iii) individual psychological support. The positive loops between counselors and consulters will help advance a society affected by a disaster.

Face it: Collecting mental health and disaster related data using Facebook vs. personal interview: The case of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster

2013 ◽  
Vol 208 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menachem Ben-Ezra ◽  
Yuval Palgi ◽  
Or Aviel ◽  
Yonit Dubiner ◽  
Evelyn Baruch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Personal Interview ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

scholarly journals Difference in the Cesium Body Contents of Affected Area Residents Depending on the Evacuation Timepoint Following the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Igarashi ◽  
Eunjoo Kim ◽  
Shozo Hashimoto ◽  
Kotaro Tani ◽  
Kazuaki Yajima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Affected Area ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

scholarly journals Absence of Detectable Radionuclides in Breast Milk in Sendai, Japan in 2012 Even by High-Sensitivity Determination: Estimated Dose among Infants after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5825
Author(s):  
Zhaoqing Lyu ◽  
Sani Rachman Soleman ◽  
Tomoko Fujitani ◽  
Yukiko Fujii ◽  
Manal A. M. Mahmoud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Minimum Detectable Activity ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Internal Exposure ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Detectable Activity ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Exposure Limit ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

The aim of this study was to estimate radionuclide levels in breast milk and the transferred dose to their infants in Sendai (100 km from Fukushima), Japan after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Radionuclide concentrations were analyzed in 101 specimens of breast milk collected in 2012. Median values for minimum detectable activities were 0.39, 0.34, 1.1, 1.89, and 17.1 Bq/kg for 137Cs, 134Cs, 131I, 110mAg, and 40K, respectively. Only radionuclides from 40K were detected. To estimate potential exposure and radiocesium dose, we assumed that the samples contained each minimum detectable activity level. The mean minimum detectable activity concentrations (standard deviation) of 137Cs and 134Cs were 0.42 (0.15) and 0.37 (0.14) Bq/kg, respectively. Means of estimated dietary intakes of 137Cs and 134Cs among infants were 0.35 (0.12) and 0.31 (0.11) Bq/day, respectively. The committed effective doses of radiocesium in infants aged 3 and 12 months via breastmilk were estimated at 5.6 (2.1) and 3.3 (1.2) μSv/year, respectively. Dietary intakes of 137Cs and 134Cs in breastfeeding mothers were back-calculated at 1.9 (0.71) and 1.7 (0.65) Bq/day, respectively. The study verified no discernible exposure to radionuclides among infants. The most conservative estimates were below the Japanese internal exposure limit of 1 mSv/year.

The holistic risk analysis of spent fuel pool considering the fuel route risk

2021 ◽  
pp. 1748006X2199851
Author(s):  
Zhixin Xu ◽  
Ming Wang ◽  
Binyan Song ◽  
WenYu Hou ◽  
Chao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool ◽  
Large Water ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

The Fukushima nuclear disaster has raised the importance on the reliability and risk research of the spent fuel pool (SFP), including the risk of internal events, fire, external hazards and so on. From a safety point of view, the low decay heat of the spent fuel assemblies and large water inventory in the SFP has made the accident progress goes very slow, but a large number of fuel assemblies are stored inside the spent fuel pool and without containment above the SFP building, it still has an unignored risk to the safety of the nuclear power plant. In this paper, a standardized approach for performing a holistic and comprehensive evaluation approach of the SFP risk based on the probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) method has been developed, including the Level 1 SFP PSA and Level 2 SFP PSA and external hazard PSA. The research scope of SFP PSA covers internal events, internal flooding, internal fires, external hazards and new risk source-fuel route risk is also included. The research will provide the risk insight of Spent Fuel Pool operation, and can help to make recommendation for the prevention and mitigation of SFP accidents which will be applicable for the SFP configuration risk management.

Healing Fukushima: Radiation hazards and disaster medicine in post-3.11 Japan

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Lin Loh ◽  
Sulfikar Amir
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Radiation Risk ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Radiation Hazards ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

What happens when expertise is forced to face disasters of unprecedented scales? How is knowledge produced in critical moments when every action and decision is a matter of life and death? And how are local social networks mobilized to cope with unforeseen crisis? This paper addresses these questions by examining the emergence of disaster medicine expertise in the aftermath of Fukushima nuclear disaster that struck Japan in 2011. Studies on Fukushima’s impact have to date revolved around the suffering of Tōhoku citizens and the development of Japan’s nuclear energy industry. Acknowledging the gravity of such work, this paper offers an alternative, but equally crucial angle on the disaster: that of the medical caregiving and public health system built in response to radiation hazards resulting from the triple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Through detailed interviews conducted with eight medical practitioners in Fukushima Prefecture, this paper analyses the significance and impact of Japan’s most recent radiation disaster on its public health infrastructure. To describe the contingent nature of radiation disaster medicine developed in response to radiation risk in Fukushima, we draw on Jasanoff’s characterization of scientific knowledge as ‘serviceable truths’ with regards to public policy and the law, suggesting that expertise in relation to disasters is usefully understood in analogous terms.

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