IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i4p397-d95333.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Shuhei Nomura

    (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK
    Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan)

  • Masaharu Tsubokura

    (Department of Radiation Protection, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, 2-54-6 Takami-cho, Haramachi-ku, Minamisoma, Fukushima 975-0033, Japan)

  • Akihiko Ozaki

    (Department of Surgery, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, 2-54-6 Takami-cho, Haramachi-ku, Minamisoma, Fukushima 975-0033, Japan)

  • Michio Murakami

    (Department of Health Risk Communication, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-1295
    Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

  • Susan Hodgson

    (MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK)

  • Marta Blangiardo

    (MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK)

  • Yoshitaka Nishikawa

    (Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan)

  • Tomohiro Morita

    (Department of Radiation Protection, Soma Central Hospital, 3-5-18 Okinouchi, Soma, Fukushima 976-0016, Japan)

  • Tomoyoshi Oikawa

    (Department of Radiation Protection, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, 2-54-6 Takami-cho, Haramachi-ku, Minamisoma, Fukushima 975-0033, Japan)

Abstract

Following Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear incident, we assessed voluntary-based monitoring behavior in Minamisoma City—located 10–40 km from the Fukushima nuclear plant—to inform future monitoring strategies. The monitoring in Minamisoma included occasional free of charge internal-radiation-exposure measurements. Out of around 70,000 individuals residing in the city before the incident, a total of 45,788 residents (female: 52.1%) aged ≥21 were evaluated. The monitoring prevalence in 2011–2012 was only 30.2%, and this decreased to 17.9% in 2013–2014. Regression analyses were performed to estimate factors associated with the monitoring prevalence and participation behavior. The results show that, in comparison with the age cohort of 21–30 years, the cohort of 71–80 and ≥81 years demonstrated significantly lower monitoring prevalence; female residents had higher monitoring prevalence than male residents; those who were living in evacuation zones at the time of the incident had higher monitoring prevalence than those who lived outside any of the evacuation zones; for those living outside Fukushima and neighboring Prefectures post-incident monitoring prevalence decreased significantly in 2013–2014. Our findings inform the discussion on the concepts of radiation risk perception and accessibility to monitoring and societal decision-making regarding the maintenance of the monitoring program with low monitoring prevalence. We also stress the possibility that the monitoring can work both to check that internal contamination levels are within acceptable limits, and as a risk communication tool, alleviating individuals’ concern and anxiety over radiation contamination.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuhei Nomura & Masaharu Tsubokura & Akihiko Ozaki & Michio Murakami & Susan Hodgson & Marta Blangiardo & Yoshitaka Nishikawa & Tomohiro Morita & Tomoyoshi Oikawa, 2017. "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 ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:4:p:397-:d:95333
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/4/397/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/4/397/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Morioka, Rika, 2014. "Gender difference in the health risk perception of radiation from Fukushima in Japan: The role of hegemonic masculinity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 105-112.
    2. Geoff Brumfiel, 2013. "Fukushima: Fallout of fear," Nature, Nature, vol. 493(7432), pages 290-293, January.
    3. Kazuya Nakayachi & Kazuhisa Nagaya, 2016. "The Effects of the Passage of Time from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake on the Public’s Anxiety about a Variety of Hazards," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-12, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bachev, Hrabrin & Ito, Fusao, 2015. "March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster - impacts on Japanese agriculture and food sector," MPRA Paper 99865, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Kyoko Yoshioka‐Maeda & Mariko Kuroda & Taisuke Togari, 2018. "Difficulties of fathers whose families evacuated voluntarily after the Fukushima nuclear disaster," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(3), pages 296-303, September.
    3. Makoto Hasegawa & Michio Murakami & Yoshitake Takebayashi & Satoshi Suzuki & Hitoshi Ohto, 2018. "Social Capital Enhanced Disaster Preparedness and Health Consultations after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Power Station Accident," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Eiji Yamamura & Chisako Yamane & Shoko Yamane & Yoshiro Tsutsui, 2022. "Effect of major disasters on geographic mobility intentions: the case of the Fukushima nuclear accident," Chapters, in: Mark Skidmore (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Disasters, chapter 14, pages 275-291, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Dingde Xu & Enlai Liu & Xuxi Wang & Hong Tang & Shaoquan Liu, 2018. "Rural Households’ Livelihood Capital, Risk Perception, and Willingness to Purchase Earthquake Disaster Insurance: Evidence from Southwestern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Hrabrin BACHEV, 2014. "Socio Economic And Environmental Impacts Of Match 2011 Earthquake Tsunami And Fukushima Nuclear Accident In Japan," Journal of Advanced Research in Management, ASERS Publishing, vol. 5(2), pages 127-222.
    7. Bachev, Hrabrin, 2015. "March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear accident impacts on Japanese agri-food sector," MPRA Paper 61499, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Hajime Iwasa & Yuriko Suzuki & Tetsuya Shiga & Masaharu Maeda & Hirooki Yabe & Seiji Yasumura, 2016. "Psychometric Evaluation of the Japanese Version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist in Community Dwellers Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Incident," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, June.
    9. Anna Maria Górska & Karolina Kulicka & Zuzanna Staniszewska & Dorota Dobija, 2021. "Deepening inequalities: What did COVID‐19 reveal about the gendered nature of academic work?," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 1546-1561, July.
    10. Bachev, Hrabrin Ianouchev & Ito, Fusao, 2014. "Implications Of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster For Japanese Agri-Food Chains," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, January.
    11. Adams, Nicholas Norman, 2023. "“It's how people act out there that counts”: Examining linkages between emerging and protective organisationally desirable managerial masculinities and a reimagining of formal safety policies in the o," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    12. Vladimir M. Cvetković & Adem Öcal & Yuliya Lyamzina & Eric K. Noji & Neda Nikolić & Goran Milošević, 2021. "Nuclear Power Risk Perception in Serbia: Fear of Exposure to Radiation vs. Social Benefits," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Rice, James, 2022. "Recreancy and the social origins of radiophobia," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Bachev, Hrabrin & Ito, Fusao, 2013. "Fukushima nuclear disaster – implications for Japanese agriculture and food chains," MPRA Paper 49462, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Victor Matanggaran & Jan M. Gutteling, 2021. "Explaining Risk Perception of Climate Change in Indonesia through Cultural Dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance, Collectivistic, and Long-term Orientation," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(5), pages 336-345, May.
    16. Hui Zhang & Wanglin Yan & Akihiro Oba & Wei Zhang, 2014. "Radiation-Driven Migration: The Case of Minamisoma City, Fukushima, Japan, after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, September.
    17. Yanbo Zhang & Yibao Wang & Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah & Wen Qing, 2021. "How Do Individual-Level Characteristics Influence Cross-Domain Risk Perceptions Among Chinese Urban Residents?," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    18. Daran Gray‐Scholz & Timothy J. Haney & Pamela MacQuarrie, 2019. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Geographic and Social Predictors of Flood Risk Awareness," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(11), pages 2543-2558, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:4:p:397-:d:95333. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.