Change of cooling appliance usage of elderlies: Before and after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

Abstract

Background: After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident on 11th March, 2011, the Japanese government implemented a power-saving drive even in the household. However, it is generally known that using the cooling appliance is one of the important measures to reduce the risk of indoor heat stress; especially for elderly people, who are susceptible to such hazard. We therefore surmised that the cooling appliance usage of elderlies was decreased after Fukushima nuclear accident, which would be a problem in terms of adaptation to heat stress. Aims: To understand whether the behavioral change in the cooling appliance use of elderlies had occurred by adjuration of the power saving after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Methods: We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey in eight urban areas during winter of 2011 and 2012; before and after the accident. Households with persons aged 65 and over were selected as samples from panel members of a research firm, and the oldest member of each household was queried about his/her usage of cooling appliances. We compare the differences of the data before and after the accident. Results: Among the 3155 participants, people who do not use the appliances during both activity time and sleeping time in 2011 increased approximately by 2% compared to those in 2010. Also, people who turn the appliances on only when the room temperature were 28? or above increased by 3%. Compared with other cities, the change was larger in Sendai, where the influence of the nuclear accident was greatly received. Conclusions: The use of cooling appliance by elderlies decreased after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Acknowledgments:This study was funded by the Environment Research and Technology Development Found S-8 from Ministry of the Environment, Japan.