THE 2011 GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE: A REPORT OF A REGIONAL HOSPITAL IN FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE COPING WITH THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR DISASTER

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 3-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
ATSUSHI IRISAWA
Keyword(s):  
Regional Hospital ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Fukushima Prefecture ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

scholarly journals “I’d Like to Let People Know What We Did:” Values of Fukushima Medical Students Following the Great East Japan Earthquake

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Stacy ◽  
Marcia Lange ◽  
Craig L. Katz ◽  
Satoshi Waguri ◽  
Robert Yanagisawa
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Fukushima Prefecture ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Ethnographic Interviews ◽  
Medical Careers ◽  
The Future ◽  
Medical University

Abstract Background: The Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting tsunami and nuclear disaster on March 11, 2011 have had a profound and lasting effect on residents of Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, particularly among evacuees. While there continues to be extensive news coverage and academic study of Fukushima Prefecture’s recovery, there has been little exploration of individual narratives. This study aims to illuminate some individual stories of medical students at Fukushima Medical University (FMU) who lived in the Prefecture at the time of the Earthquake.Methods: 10 open-ended ethnographic interviews were conducted with medical students at FMU in years 1-5 who lived in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. All interviews were recorded and transcribed; the transcriptions served as the basis for thematic analysis under the lens of ethnographic anthropology.Results: Three major topics emerged from these interviews: first, that the events following the Earthquake influenced not only these students’ decisions to become doctors, but the ways in which they hope to practice medicine in the future. Second, that these students were motivated to share their experiences by a want to change Fukushima Prefecture’s public image. And lastly, that the students viewed the opportunity to discuss their experiences through these interviews as healing, both for themselves and for the future.Conclusions: While multiple factors undoubtably contributed these students’ medical education, they cite the Earthquake as essential to their approach to their medical careers. Additionally, opportunities for the participants to discuss their experiences following the Earthquake appear to be rare but valued, as the students view their stories as their “legacies.” The enduring, burdening effects of the Earthquake appear to have galvanized the participating students to act on behalf of their communities and their Prefecture.

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.

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