Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T01:21:41.828Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: Lessons for Evidence Integration from a WADEM 2017 Presentation and Panel Discussion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2018

Claire Leppold ,
Sae Ochi ,
Shuhei Nomura  and
Virginia Murray
Claire Leppold*
Affiliation:
Global Public Health Unit, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Department of Research, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Minamisoma, Japan
Sae Ochi
Affiliation:
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan Department of Internal Medicine, Soma Central Hospital, Soma, Japan
Shuhei Nomura
Affiliation:
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Virginia Murray
Affiliation:
Public Health England, London, United Kingdom Integrated Research on Disaster Risk Scientific Committee Member, Beijing, China
*
Correspondence: Claire Leppold, MSc Global Public Health Unit School of Social and Political Science University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom E-mail: Claire.Leppold@ed.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In April 2017, some of the health impacts of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and resultant Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster (Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan) were presented at the 19th Congress of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM; Madison, Wisconsin USA) in Toronto, Canada. A panel discussion was then opened by asking audience members about their experiences in their own countries, and how they would suggest taking steps to reach the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This paper summarizes the presentation and panel discussion, with a particular focus on the common problems identified in understanding and reducing health risks from disasters in multiple countries, such as the ethical and practical difficulties in decision making on evacuating vulnerable populations that arose similarly during the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and Hurricane Ike’s approach to Galveston (Texas USA) in 2008. This paper also highlights the need for greater integration of research, for example through increased review and collation of evidence from different disaster settings to identify common problems and possible solutions, which was identified in this panel session as a precursor to fulfilling the goals of the Sendai Framework.

Leppold C, Ochi S, Nomura S, Murray V. The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster: lessons for evidence integration from a WADEM 2017 presentation and panel discussion. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(4):424–427

Keywords

FukushimaGreat East Japan Earthquakenuclear disastertsunami
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 33 , Issue 4 , August 2018 , pp. 424 - 427
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Conflicts of interest/funding: This conference session and follow-up report was partially supported by a Toyota Foundation (Tokyo, Japan) Grant (D15-R-0009). The funders had no role in the conference session and report design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

1. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. http://www.preventionweb.net/files/43291_sendaiframeworkfordrren.pdf. Published 2015. Accessed June 3, 2017.Google Scholar
2. Hasegawa, A, Tanigawa, K, Ohtsuru, A, et al. Health effects of radiation and other health problems in the aftermath of nuclear accidents, with an emphasis on Fukushima. Lancet. 2015;386(9992):479-488.Google Scholar
3. Ohtsuru, A, Tanigawa, K, Kumagai, A, et al. Nuclear disasters and health: lessons learned, challenges, and proposals. Lancet. 2015;386(9992):489-497.Google Scholar
4. Sugimoto, A, Gilmour, S, Tsubokura, M, et al. Assessment of the risk of medium-term internal contamination in Minamisoma City, Fukushima, Japan, after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Environ Health Perspect. 2014;122(6):587-593.Google Scholar
5. Hayano, RS, Tsubokura, M, Miyazaki, M, et al. Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. Proc Jpn Acad Ser B Phys Biol Sci. 2015;91(8):440-446.Google Scholar
6. Leppold, C, Tanimoto, T, Tsubokura, M. Public health after a nuclear disaster: beyond radiation risks. Bull World Health Organ. 2016;94(11):859-860.Google Scholar
7. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Developments since the 2013 UNSCEAR report on the levels and effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident following the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami: a 2015 white paper to guide the Scientific Committee’s future program of work. New York, USA: United Nations; 2015.Google Scholar
8. Tsuda, T, Tokinobu, A, Yamamoto, E, Suzuki, E. Thyroid cancer detection by ultrasound among residents ages 18 years and younger in Fukushima, Japan: 2011 to 2014. Epidemiology. 2016;27(3):316-322.Google Scholar
9. Ochi, S, Kato, S, Tsubokura, M, et al. Voice from Fukushima: responsibility of epidemiologists to avoid irrational stigmatization of children in Fukushima. Thyroid. 2016;26(9):1332-1333.Google Scholar
10. Sugimoto, A, Krull, S, Nomura, S, et al. The voice of the most vulnerable: lessons from the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Japan. Bull World Health Organ. 2012;90(8):629-630.Google Scholar
11. Nomura, S, Tsubokura, M, Murakami, M, et al. Towards a long-term strategy for voluntary-based internal radiation contamination monitoring: representativeness of the monitoring results in Fukushima, Japan. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;13(6):E656.Google Scholar
12. Nomura, S, Tsubokura, M, Ozaki, A, et al. Towards a long-term strategy for voluntary-based internal radiation contamination monitoring: a population-level analysis of monitoring prevalence and factors associated with monitoring participation behavior in Fukushima, Japan. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(4):E397.Google Scholar
13. Harasawa, K, Tanimoto, T, Kami, M, et al. Health problems in the temporary housing in Fukushima. Lancet. 2012;379(9833):2240-2241.Google Scholar
14. Yasumura, S, Goto, A, Yamazaki, S, et al. Excess mortality among relocated institutionalized elderly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Public Health. 2013;127(2):186-188.Google Scholar
15. The National Diet of Japan. The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. Executive summary. http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2013/ph241/mori1/docs/NAIIC_report_hi_res10.pdf. Published 2012. Accessed July 21, 2017.Google Scholar
16. Nomura, S, Blangiardo, M, Tsubokura, M, et al. Post-nuclear disaster evacuation and survival amongst elderly people in Fukushima: a comparative analysis between evacuees and non-evacuees. Prev Med. 2016;82:77-82.Google Scholar
17. Ochi, S, Tsubokura, M, Kato, S, et al. Hospital staff shortage after the 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan-an earthquake, tsunamis, and nuclear power plant accident: a case of the Soso District. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(10):e0164952.Google Scholar
18. Brown, LM, Dosa, DM, Thomas, K, et al. The effects of evacuation on nursing home residents with dementia. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2012;27(6):406-412.Google Scholar
19. Dosa, D, Hyer, K, Thomas, K, et al. To evacuate or shelter in place: implications of universal hurricane evacuation policies on nursing home residents. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2012;13(2):190.e1-7.Google Scholar
20. The Florida Emergency Preparedness Guide. Florida Department of Health Web site. http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-preparedness-and-response/_documents/prepareguide-eng.pdf. Accessed June 6, 2017.Google Scholar
21. Rosenkoetter, MM, Covan, EK, Cobb, BK, et al. Perceptions of older adults regarding evacuation in the event of a natural disaster. Public Health Nursing. 2007;24(2):160-168.Google Scholar
22. Van Wijngaarden, E, Leget, C, Goossensen, A. Ready to give up on life: the lived experience of elderly people who feel life is completed and no longer worth living. Soc Sci Med. 2015;138:257-264.Google Scholar
23. Ruggiero, KJ, Gros, K, McCauley, JL, et al. Mental health outcomes among adults in Galveston and Chambers counties after Hurricane Ike. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2012;6(1):26-32.Google Scholar
24. Lowe, SR, Tracey, M, Cerda, M, et al. Immediate and longer-term stressors and the mental health of Hurricane Ike survivors. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26(6):753-761.Google Scholar
25. Sato, Y, Arimoto, T. Five years after Fukushima: scientific advice in Japan. Palgrave Communications. 2016;2:16025.Google Scholar
26. Murakami, M, Tsubokura, M. Evaluating risk communication after the Fukushima Disaster based on nudge theory. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2017;29(2_suppl):193S-200S.Google Scholar
27. Murakami, M, Sato, A, Matsu, S, et al. Communicating with residents about risks following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2017;29(2_suppl):74S-89S.Google Scholar
28. Tateno, S, Yokoyama, HM. Public anxiety, trust, and the role of mediators in communicating risk of exposure to low dose radiation after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant explosion. JCOM. 2013;12(2):1-22.Google Scholar
29. Heard-Garris, NJ, Roche, J, Carter, P, et al. Voices from Flint: community perceptions of the Flint water crisis. J Urban Health. 2017;94(6):776-779.Google Scholar
30. Ursano, RJ, Fullerton, CS, Weisaeth, L, et al. (eds). Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2017.Google Scholar
31. Suzuki, Y, Yabe, H, Yasumura, S, et al. Psychological distress and the perception of radiation risks: the Fukushima health management survey. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;1;93(9):598-605.Google Scholar
32. Kamedo-repots. Socialstyrelsen Web site. http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/kamedo. Accessed July 14, 2017.Google Scholar