Collection
Lessons Learned and Consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, Five Years Later
Table of Contents
Deborah Oughton
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 651-653, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1831
Key Points
- The societal and health consequences of evacuation after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident have been significant and raise important ethical questions as to whether the response has produced more harm than good.
- The decision to return to evacuated areas is affected not only by anxiety about radiation levels but also by concerns about the availability of infrastructure such as medical services, schools, shops, and employment.
- Reports of stigma and discrimination in Fukushima, as well, targeting Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) workers and school children, are reflected in parental concerns for their children which include worries about their opportunity to find marriage partners in later life, and the fear of hardships and discrimination similar to those experienced by the Hibakusha (victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).
- The societal and health consequences of evacuation after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident have been significant and raise important ethical questions as to whether the response has produced more harm than good.
- The decision to return to evacuated areas is affected not only by anxiety about radiation levels but also by concerns about the availability of infrastructure such as medical services, schools, shops, and employment.
- Reports of stigma and discrimination in Fukushima, as well, targeting Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) workers and school children, are reflected in parental concerns for their children which include worries about their opportunity to find marriage partners in later life, and the fear of hardships and discrimination similar to those experienced by the Hibakusha (victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).
Jordi Vives i Batlle
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 654-658, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1825
Key Points
- The importance of dynamic transfer modelling in combination with monitoring to reconstruct the impact of the Fukushima accident on marine biota is now demonstrated.
- Radionuclide levels in marine biota off Fukushima are highly variable but remain elevated, although this does not indicate significant risks to whole populations.
- Local hotspots for biota very close to the FDNPS could potentially persist for a long time. The necessary research to understand what this means has not been completed and should not stop now.
- The contamination of the marine environment near Fukushima remains significant, even if it is below the thresholds for population effects in biota.
- The importance of dynamic transfer modelling in combination with monitoring to reconstruct the impact of the Fukushima accident on marine biota is now demonstrated.
- Radionuclide levels in marine biota off Fukushima are highly variable but remain elevated, although this does not indicate significant risks to whole populations.
- Local hotspots for biota very close to the FDNPS could potentially persist for a long time. The necessary research to understand what this means has not been completed and should not stop now.
- The contamination of the marine environment near Fukushima remains significant, even if it is below the thresholds for population effects in biota.
Hirofumi Tsukada, Kenji Ohse
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 659-661, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1827
Key Points
- Application of potassium fertilizer effectively lowered the concentration of radiocaesium in brown rice, cultivated in Oguni, Fukushima in 2013, to levels that were below the Standard Limits (100 Bq kg−1).
- The concentration of radiocaesium in brown rice cultivated without application of potassium fertilizer in Oguni was over the Standard Limits.
- The uptake of 137Cs by rice plants from irrigation water in Oguni, including the dissolved and suspended matter fractions, was very limited.
- Application of potassium fertilizer effectively lowered the concentration of radiocaesium in brown rice, cultivated in Oguni, Fukushima in 2013, to levels that were below the Standard Limits (100 Bq kg−1).
- The concentration of radiocaesium in brown rice cultivated without application of potassium fertilizer in Oguni was over the Standard Limits.
- The uptake of 137Cs by rice plants from irrigation water in Oguni, including the dissolved and suspended matter fractions, was very limited.
Hildegarde Vandenhove, Catrinel Turcanu
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 662-666, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1826
Key Points
- The Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents highlight the need for improved legal and regulatory frameworks for responding in the aftermath of a similar crisis, criteria for residual radiation dose limits and contamination levels in soils and food stuffs and strategies for waste management.
- Recovery of agricultural land should be tailored to the physical, social and political environment; this calls for increased attention to long-term post-accident management, the vulnerabilities of affected territories and the possible need to recalibrate or upgrade existing radioecological models.
- Formal processes for engaging citizens and other stakeholders in post-accident recovery are needed at all decision making levels, from local to national; such processes can benefit from the development of adequate decision-support tools.
- The Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents highlight the need for improved legal and regulatory frameworks for responding in the aftermath of a similar crisis, criteria for residual radiation dose limits and contamination levels in soils and food stuffs and strategies for waste management.
- Recovery of agricultural land should be tailored to the physical, social and political environment; this calls for increased attention to long-term post-accident management, the vulnerabilities of affected territories and the possible need to recalibrate or upgrade existing radioecological models.
- Formal processes for engaging citizens and other stakeholders in post-accident recovery are needed at all decision making levels, from local to national; such processes can benefit from the development of adequate decision-support tools.
Joji M Otaki
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 667-672, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1828
Key Points
- A recent study states that the Fukushima accident ranks among the worst nuclear accidents in terms of economic and health impacts.
- The assumption that ionizing radiation is the sole contributor to the biological impacts of a nuclear accident is unlikely to be correct; field observations often show higher rates of adverse effects than laboratory experiments under the similar levels of radiation exposure.
- Sensitivities not only to ionizing radiation but also to particulate matter (and probably to other factors) may vary in individual members of indicator species as well as in other organisms including humans.
- It is necessary to have an environmental species that is common (not endangered), that shares a living environment (air, water, and soil) with humans, and that is amenable to laboratory experiments. It is important for any biological study to begin immediately after (or before) a nuclear accident.
- A recent study states that the Fukushima accident ranks among the worst nuclear accidents in terms of economic and health impacts.
- The assumption that ionizing radiation is the sole contributor to the biological impacts of a nuclear accident is unlikely to be correct; field observations often show higher rates of adverse effects than laboratory experiments under the similar levels of radiation exposure.
- Sensitivities not only to ionizing radiation but also to particulate matter (and probably to other factors) may vary in individual members of indicator species as well as in other organisms including humans.
- It is necessary to have an environmental species that is common (not endangered), that shares a living environment (air, water, and soil) with humans, and that is amenable to laboratory experiments. It is important for any biological study to begin immediately after (or before) a nuclear accident.
François Bréchignac
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 673-676, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1830
Key Points
- Differences in methodological and conceptual inference strategies, more than fundamental differences in the processes governing ecological harm, yield divergent interpretations of the impacts of radiation incidents.
- Laboratory experimentation and in situ studies do not focus on the same endpoints and tend, therefore, to ignore alternative approaches to assessing the effects of radiation.
- Differences in methodological and conceptual inference strategies, more than fundamental differences in the processes governing ecological harm, yield divergent interpretations of the impacts of radiation incidents.
- Laboratory experimentation and in situ studies do not focus on the same endpoints and tend, therefore, to ignore alternative approaches to assessing the effects of radiation.
Margaret H Kurth, Igor Linkov
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 677-679, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1824
Key Points
- Risk and resilience are discussed in the context of radiation accidents.
- Risk and resilience are discussed in the context of radiation accidents.
Kaori Murase
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 680-682, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1829
Key Points
- To minimize the damage resulting from a long-term environmental disaster, early disclosure of research data by scientists and prompt decision making by government authorities are required.
- Statistical modeling and a Bayesian approach to data analysis have the potential to open new avenues for the utilization of incomplete or insufficient data; such an approach has been successful in other fields of study such as research in the fields of econometrics and machine learning.
- To minimize the damage resulting from a long-term environmental disaster, early disclosure of research data by scientists and prompt decision making by government authorities are required.
- Statistical modeling and a Bayesian approach to data analysis have the potential to open new avenues for the utilization of incomplete or insufficient data; such an approach has been successful in other fields of study such as research in the fields of econometrics and machine learning.
Tanja Perko
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 683-686, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1832
Key Points
- Risk communication failures contributed to citizens’ anxiety and distrust in emergency management, the government, the safety regulators, the experts, and the nuclear industry worldwide, and resulted in improper public response and difficulties in the recovery from the Fukushima accident.
- Effective media communication can support implementation of protective measures, reduce public fears and thus minimize the chance of negative psychological effects, and help sustain public confidence in the organizations that are responsible for emergency management.
- Communication training and materials for emergency situations should be prepared beforehand by the responsible authorities and made easily available for the public and media on a general basis.
- Risk communication failures contributed to citizens’ anxiety and distrust in emergency management, the government, the safety regulators, the experts, and the nuclear industry worldwide, and resulted in improper public response and difficulties in the recovery from the Fukushima accident.
- Effective media communication can support implementation of protective measures, reduce public fears and thus minimize the chance of negative psychological effects, and help sustain public confidence in the organizations that are responsible for emergency management.
- Communication training and materials for emergency situations should be prepared beforehand by the responsible authorities and made easily available for the public and media on a general basis.
Brit Salbu, Ole Christian Lind
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 687-689, https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1834
Key Points
- Whenever refractory radionuclides are released after nuclear events, radioactive particles should be expected.
- To date, no spent fuel particles in the area around Fukushima have been identified, although measurements of the Pu isotope ratios indicate that fuel particles have been released.
- In particle-affected areas, impact and risk assessments will therefore suffer from large uncertainties if particles are ignored.
- Whenever refractory radionuclides are released after nuclear events, radioactive particles should be expected.
- To date, no spent fuel particles in the area around Fukushima have been identified, although measurements of the Pu isotope ratios indicate that fuel particles have been released.
- In particle-affected areas, impact and risk assessments will therefore suffer from large uncertainties if particles are ignored.
