Internal Radiation Exposure Dose in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture after the Accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

On 1 April 2017, six years have passed since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident, and the Japanese government declared that some residents who lived in Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture could return to their homes. We evaluated environmental contamination and radiation exposure dose rates due to artificial radionuclides in the livelihood zone of residents (living space such as housing sites), including a restricted area located within a 10-km radius from the FDNPS, immediately after residents had returned home in Tomioka town. In areas where the evacuation orders had been lifted, the median air dose rates were 0.20 μSv/h indoors and 0.26 μSv/h outdoors, and the radiation exposure dose rate was 1.6 mSv/y. By contrast, in the “difficult-to-return zone,” the median air dose rate was 2.3 μSv/h (20 mSv/y) outdoors. Moreover, the dose-forming artificial radionuclides (radiocesium) in the surface soil were 0.018 μSv/h (0.17 mSv/y) in the evacuation order-lifted areas and 0.73 μSv/h (6.4 mSv/y) in the difficult-to-return zone. These findings indicate that current concentrations of artificial radionuclides in soil samples have been decreasing in the evacuation order-lifted areas of Tomioka town; however, a significant external exposure risk still exists in the difficult-to-return zone. The case of Tomioka town is expected to be the first reconstruction model including the difficult-to-return zone.

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Internal Radiation Exposure After the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

JAMA ◽

10.1001/jama.2012.9839 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 308 (7) ◽

pp. 669 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

Masaharu Tsubokura ◽

Stuart Gilmour ◽

Kyohei Takahashi ◽

Tomoyoshi Oikawa ◽

Yukio Kanazawa

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power Plant ◽

Radiation Exposure ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Internal Radiation

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Measurement of Internal Radiation Exposure among Decontamination Workers in Villages near the Crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Health Physics ◽

10.1097/hp.0b013e318297ad92 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 105 (4) ◽

pp. 379-381 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Masaharu Tsubokura ◽

Masahiko Nihei ◽

Katsumi Sato ◽

Shin Masaki ◽

Yu Sakuma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power Plant ◽

Radiation Exposure ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Internal Radiation ◽

Fukushima Daiichi

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Minimal Internal Radiation Exposure in Residents Living South of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0140482 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. e0140482 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Junichi Akiyama ◽

Shigeaki Kato ◽

Masaharu Tsubokura ◽

Jinichi Mori ◽

Tetsuya Tanimoto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power Plant ◽

Radiation Exposure ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Internal Radiation ◽

Fukushima Daiichi

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Internal radiation exposure of Ground Self-Defense Force members involved in the management of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster

American Journal of Disaster Medicine ◽

10.5055/ajdm.2013.0114 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 87-90 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yutaka Naoi, MD ◽

Akira Fujikawa, MD ◽

Yukishige Kyoto, MD ◽

Naoaki Kunishima, MD ◽

Masahiro Ono, RT ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power Plant ◽

Radiation Exposure ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Internal Exposure ◽

Internal Radiation ◽

Self Defense ◽

Radiation Contamination ◽

Medical Examinations

When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) was dispatched nationally to Northeast area in Japan. The highly trained GSDF members were simultaneously assigned to various missions for the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants disaster. The missions of GSDF terminated on August 31, 2011. Special medical examinations were conducted for the members as they returned to each military unit. GSDF members who were assigned to the nuclear power plant were at risk of radiation exposure; therefore, pocket dosimeters were used to assess external radiation exposure. A few months after the mission was terminated, measurements of internal radiation exposure were performed. This is the first report of the internal exposure of GSDF members who worked in the restricted radiation contamination area. Here, we report the amounts of internal and external exposure of and the equipment used by the GSDF members.

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Distrust in government and its relationship with mental health after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764020968129 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 002076402096812

Author(s):

Maiko Fukasawa ◽

Norito Kawakami ◽

Maki Umeda ◽

Tsuyoshi Akiyama ◽

Naoko Horikoshi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Residential Area ◽

National Government ◽

Nuclear Power Plant Accident ◽

Fukushima Prefecture ◽

The Government

Background: Distrust in authorities has negative effects on mental health. Aims: In this study, we aimed to explore whether the impact of distrust in government on mental health became stronger in the area heavily affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Methods: We examined the effects of distrust in the national government on depressive symptoms three years after the accident among community residents in Fukushima prefecture using those in the Kanto area (the area surrounding Tokyo) as a control. A questionnaire survey was administered to a random sample of 1000 residents in Fukushima prefecture and 1650 residents in the Kanto area. Distrust in the national government was assessed using a four-point single-item scale. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The associations of residential area (i.e. living in Fukushima prefecture or in the Kanto area) and distrust in the national government with depressive symptoms were examined, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and disaster-related experiences using multivariate linear regression analyses. We used the interaction term of residential area and distrust in the government to explore the difference in the association between the respondents in Fukushima prefecture and those in the Kanto area. Results: Valid responses were obtained from 976 (36.8%) residents. Distrust in the government was associated with depressive symptoms and the association was stronger in Fukushima prefecture than in the Kanto area. Conclusion: The deleterious effects of distrust in the government on mental health may become more serious after a nuclear power plant accident and require careful attention during support activities in an affected area.

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