Paper:
The Relationship Between Years of Service and Traumatic Experiences Related to Radiation Among Local Government Staff Working Within 30 km of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
Hitomi Matsunaga , Yuya Kashiwazaki , Makiko Orita , Xu Xiao , and Noboru Takamura
Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Corresponding author
An accident occurred at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) in March 2011, following an earthquake and tsunami. Local government staff members who worked in the area had a variety of experiences due to the accident, including trauma. This cross-sectional study was conducted to clarify the relationship between years of service and radiation-related traumatic experiences among 490 staff members in municipalities around the FDNPS exactly a decade after the accident. They were classified as <5 years, 5–10 years, and >10 years, relative to their lengths of employment. The experienced staff (>10 years of service) had a rich array of traumatic experiences, compared to those with less experience (<5 years of service). By contrast, the experienced staff had a lower SOC-13 score than those with less experience, and a higher percentage of them reported that their workload was greater than that imposed on other local government employees. The study results suggested that the experienced staff members who worked in the affected towns prior to the FDNPS accident have been burdened with a prolonged heavier workload, including radiation-related duties.
- [1] World Health Organization, “The Great East Japan Earthquake: A Story of a Devastating Natural Disaster, a Tale of Human Compassion,” 2011. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/the-great-east-japan-earthquake-a-story-of-a-devastating-natural-disaster-a-tale-of-human-compassion [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [2] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), “INES: The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale,” https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/ines.pdf [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [3] IAEA, “Fukushima nuclear accident update log,” 2011. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/fukushima-nuclear-accident-update-log-15#::text=The%20Japanese%20Nuclear%20and%20Industrial%20Safety%20Agency%20%28NISA%29,as%20a%20level%207%20%22Major%20Accident%22%20on%20INES [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [4] World Nuclear Association, “Fukushima Daiichi accident,” 2022. https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-daiichi-accident.aspx [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [5] IAEA, “The Fukushima Daiichi accident: Report by the director general,” 2015. https://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/pdf/pub1710-reportbythedg-web.pdf [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [6] United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), “Levels and effects of radiation exposure due to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: Implications of information published since the UNSCEAR 2013 report (Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation, UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes, Vol.2, Scientific Annex B),” 2021. https://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/fukushima.html [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [7] Fukushima Prefectural Government, “Transition of evacuation designated zones,” 2019. https://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/site/portal-english/en03-08.html [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [8] J. Shigemura et al., “Psychological trauma risks among disaster workers: Perspectives on their mental health following the Great East Japan Earthquake,” Psychiatr. Neurol. Jpn., Vol.114, No.11, pp. 1267-1273, 2012 (in Japanese).
- [9] M. Maeda, Y. Ueda, M. Nagai, S. Fujii, and M. Oe, “Diagnostic interview study of the prevalence of depression among public employees engaged in long-term relief work in Fukushima,” Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci., Vol.70, No.9, pp. 413-420, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12414
- [10] M. Maeda and M. Oe, “The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tsunami and nuclear disaster,” K. E. Cherry (Ed.), “Traumatic Stress and Long-Term Recovery: Coping with Disasters and Other Negative Life Events,” pp. 71-90, Springer, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18866-9_5
- [11] Y. Kunii et al., “Severe psychological distress of evacuees in evacuation zone caused by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident: The Fukushima health management survey,” PLOS ONE, Vol.11, No.7, Article No.e0158821, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158821
- [12] K. Yoshida et al., “Radiation-related anxiety among public health nurses in Fukushima Prefecture after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: A cross-sectional study,” BMJ Open, Vol.6, No.10, Article No.e013564, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013564
- [13] H. Matsumoto et al., “Health effects triggered by tritium: How do we get public understanding based on scientifically supported evidence?” J. Radiat. Res., Vol.62, No.4, pp. 557-563, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rrab029
- [14] M. Takada, M. Murakami, S. Ohnuma, Y. Shibata, T. Yasutaka, “Public attitudes toward the final disposal of radioactively contaminated soil resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident,” Environ. Manag., Vol.73, No.5, pp. 962-972, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-01938-w
- [15] K. Silventoinen et al., “The genetic background of the associations between sense of coherence and mental health, self-esteem and personality,” Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol., Vol.57, No.2, pp. 423-433, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02098-6
- [16] A. Antonovsky, “Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well,” Jossey-Bass, 1987.
- [17] K. Anzai, N. Ban, T. Ozawa, and S. Tokonami, “Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident: Facts, environmental contamination, possible biological effects, and countermeasures,” J. Clin. Biochem. Nutr., Vol.50, No.1, pp. 2-8, 2011. https://doi.org/10.3164%2Fjcbn.D-11-00021
- [18] T. Togari et al., “Nationally representative score of the Japanese language version of the 13-item 7-point sense of coherence scale,” Jpn. J. Public Health, Vol.62, No.5, pp. 232-237, 2015 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.11236/jph.62.5_232
- [19] Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Overview of the results of the occupational safety and health survey” 2019 (in Japanese). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/dl/h30-46-50_gaikyo.pdf [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [20] UNSCEAR, “Levels and effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East-Japan earthquake and tsunami (Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation, UNSCEAR 2013 Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes, Vol.1, Scientific Annex A),” 2014. https://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/publications/2013_1.html [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [21] Investigation Committee on the Accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company, “Executive summary of the final report,” 2012. https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/icanps/eng/finalgaiyou.pdf [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [22] IAEA, “Fukushima Daiichi Status Updates,” 2022. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fukushima/status-update [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [23] A. Hasegawa et al., “Lexical analysis suggests differences between subgroups in anxieties over radiation exposure in Fukushima,” J. Radiat. Res., Vol.59, No.Suppl_2, pp. ii83-ii90, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rry027
- [24] M. Orui et al., “Those who have continuing radiation anxiety show high psychological distress in cases of high post-traumatic stress: The Fukushima Nuclear disaster,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, Vol.18, No.22, Article No.12048, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212048
- [25] Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., “Fukushima reconstruction: Current status and radiation health risks,” 2017. https://www.mri.co.jp/knowledge/column/i6sdu6000000u86p-att/MTR_Fukushima_1712.pdf [Accessed December 28, 2023]
- [26] M. Kai et al., “ICRP Publication 146: Radiological protection of people and the environment in the event of a large nuclear accident: Update of ICRP Publications 109 and 111,” Ann. ICRP, Vol.49, No.4, pp. 11-135. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146645320952659
- [27] N. Takamura, M. Orita, Y. Taira, H. Matsunaga, and S. Yamashita, “Experiences of crisis communication during radiation emergency and risk communication for recovery of the community in Fukushima,” J. Radiat. Res., Vol.62, No.Supplement_1, pp. i95-i100, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rraa113
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.