Reputational Damage in Radiation Disasters 10 years after the Accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Ten years have passed since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and radioactive substances contained in agricultural products and marine products are now below detectable levels. Amidst this, the testing stance is changing from one that guarantees safety to one that guarantees relief, and testing is being reduced for financial reasons. Moreover, the sense of resistance and concern towards food products produced in Fukushima Prefecture is reducing. Anxiety has been reducing along with the development of the inspection system, the inspection results, and the passage of time. However, although there have been fewer requests, demands, and claims to avoid products from Fukushima Prefecture since immediately after the accident, there is a tendency for consumer trends to be forcefully ‘surmised'. As a result, the problem of reputational damage, such as the fact that the market ranking of rice and beef has not recovered, remains an issue.

Dialogue as therapy: the role of the expert in the ICRP Dialogues

Science communication is commonly framed as a battle with ignorance and the field of radiological protection is not exempt from this tendency. By correcting deficits in the public’s understanding of science, the expert is often imagined to be able to convince the public of its objective safety (‘anzen’), thereby inspiring a sense of calm (‘anshin’). In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster, however, the International Commission on Radiological Protection has sought to break with this tradition by organising a series of participatory seminars in which experts engage those affected by the disaster as equals. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this article suggests that the Dialogue seminars can be best understood using the metaphor of therapy; using it to describe the premise, form, and objectives of the Dialogues with a view to identifying good practice for future radiological protection scenarios.

Radiation doses of workers engaged in decontamination of the environment

After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on 11 March 2011, radioactive materials were released into the atmosphere resulting in environmental contamination. Following the implementation of environmental decontamination efforts, the Radiation Dose Registration Centre of the Radiation Effects Association established the radiation dose registration system for decontamination and related workers to consolidate and prevent the loss of radiation records. This article presents statistics on the radiation doses of decontamination and related workers using official records. Since approximately 10 years have passed since the accident in Fukushima, the types of work conducted in the affected restricted areas have changed over time. Therefore, changes in radiation dose for each type of work and comparisons with nuclear workers are presented.

Communicating radiation risks to the residents of the Chernobyl-affected areas in Russia: key lessons learned

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. This article analyses the communication experiences of radiation protection experts at federal/regional and local level. Efforts to justify protective measures were more successful at federal level, while the task of adjusting risk perception among local residents remains unresolved. At the recovery stage (15 years after the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant), the main difficulties were associated with the fact that expert knowledge was in conflict with public perception of the risk of low doses and legislative approaches. In these situations, communication success depends directly on an expert’s personality. When large areas are affected, the efforts of a few dedicated experts are clearly not sufficient. More systematic approaches (training of doctors, teachers, etc.) require governmental support and experienced personnel. Federal authorities had changed their attitudes by the 15th anniversary of the accident. However, at regional level, this process stretched out for another 15 years. Public perception of large-scale health consequences still persists. Examples and survey results are presented in this article.

R&D of JAEA for the decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in March 2011, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been contributing actively to the environmental recovery of Fukushima and the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station from a technical aspect, through a wide range of research and development (R&D) activities including fundamental research and applicational technology development. JAEA has been conducting R&D such as the characterisation of fuel debris, and treatment and disposal of radioactive wastes based on the ‘Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap’ authorised by the Japanese Government. This R&D is mainly promoted by Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS) in Tomioka Town, and CLADS has also been promoting cooperation with domestic and foreign research institutes, related companies, universities, etc. In addition, Naraha Centre for Remote Control Technology Development in Naraha Town commenced full operation in April 2016 for the development and demonstration of remote control technologies planned for use in the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station and disaster response. Okuma Analysis and Research Centre in Okuma Town is under construction for the analysis and characterisation of fuel debris and various radioactive wastes. Ten years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, and environmental conditions in Fukushima have been improving. The evacuation zone has been lifted, and preparation of specific recovery areas in the difficult-to-return zone has progressed. However, the reconstruction of Fukushima and the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station are still in progress, and JAEA will continue its R&D for the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station with domestic and international expertise in order to further contribute to the reconstruction of Fukushima.

How to overcome the difficulty of talking about the experience of a nuclear disaster

At the ICRP International Conference on Recovery After Nuclear Accidents Session 3.4 Forum on the Transmission of Experience held in December 2020, a panel discussion took place on the topic, ‘How to overcome the difficulty to talk about the experience of nuclear accidents?’. The facilitator was Ryoko Ando (NPO Fukushima Dialogue) and the following six people participated as panelists: Atsushi Chiba (teacher at Fukushima Prefectural Asaka High School), Yoshiko Aoki (NPO Group of Storytellers About 311 in Tomioka), Miku Endo (Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum), Kenji Shiga (former Director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum), Thierry Schneider (Centre d’étude sur l’Evaluation de la Protection dans le domaine Nucléaire), and Noboru Takamura (Director of Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum, Nagasaki University).

Chornobyl exclusion zone: current status and challenges

Comparisons of the large nuclear accidents that occurred at the nuclear power plants in Chornobyl and Fukushima usually focus on the emission of radionuclides, the contamination area, doses to the public and liquidation workers, etc. However, little attention has been paid to various factors that affect decisions regarding the future development of these territories, such as the sociopolitical and economic situation in the countries during the accident and at the present time, the density and structure of the population, climate change, media coverage, and accessibility of information to the public. This article attempts to discuss the above factors, speculates about the paths for future development of both exclusion zones, and suggests the most promising areas for joint research in the future.

The institutional structure for decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. This article describes the institutional structure established for decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. To deal with the aftermath of the unprecedented nuclear accident in Fukushima, several responsible institutions such as Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) have worked together at the initiative of the Government of Japan. In this structure, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) implements the decommissioning due to its legal responsibility, while the essential direction and milestones are set by the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters of the Government of Japan. Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation, a government-affiliated organisation, oversees and facilitates the decommissioning by TEPCO, and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safety from an independent standpoint. The main basic elements essential for the success of this long-term project have been developed, such as the technical strategy, financial system, and organisational capability. Decommissioning is making progress.