Evaluation of Residents' Timing of Return to or New Settlement in Kawauchi Village, at 10 Years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

Makiko Orita,Mengjie Liu,Noboru Takamura,Yuya Kashiwazaki,Yasuyuki Taira,Hitomi Matsunaga

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010543

Abstract

Kawauchi village in Fukushima prefecture was affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, and residents had to evacuate from their hometown in 2011. This study clarified the timing and related factors with regard to residents returning to or newly settling in Kawauchi. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire, from February to March 2021, with assistance from the Kawauchi village office and post office. Of the 374 residents, 170 (45.5%) had returned to or newly settled in Kawauchi within the past 2 years (group 1), 84 (22.5%) in the past 2–5 years (group 2), and 99 (26.5%) after more than 5 years (group 3) following the evacuation order. An additional 21 residents (5.5%) who had lived in Kawauchi at the time of the FDNPP had not yet returned (group 4). Compared with the other groups, residents in group 1 were more satisfied with their current lives and were coping better with stress. Even though they had experienced a serious nuclear disaster, residents of Kawauchi village who returned to their hometown in the early phase had a high sense of satisfaction with their current life one decade after the FDNPP accident.

Highlights

In March 2011, the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi NuclearPower Plant (FDNPP) accident occurred as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the massive tsunami of over 40 m, which is the largest recorded since observations began
Residents’ sense of satisfaction with their current lives and their sense of belonging in Kawauchi was significantly higher in group 1 than in other groups, and the feeling that genetic effects would occur due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident was significantly lower in group 1 than in other groups
There was no difference among the groups in terms of sex, cohabitation with children, opinion that Kawauchi has been adequately reconstructed after the FDNPP accident, concern about consuming wild plants growing in Kawauchi, the feeling that health effects would occur due to radiation exposure from the FDNPP accident, or frequency of PCL-S score ≥ 12

Summary

Introduction

Power Plant (FDNPP) accident occurred as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the massive tsunami of over 40 m, which is the largest recorded since observations began (magnitude 9.0). This complex disaster caused extreme direct damage occurred due to destruction of public equipment, as well as disruption of life and business activities, interruption of lifelines, and severance of supply chains [1,2]. Corresponding to the nuclear accident, the government ordered residents in a 3 km radius around the FDNPP to evacuate on 11 March 2011. As the seriousness of the accident became apparent, the areas of evacuation orders were gradually expanded.

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