Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster Research Articles

Cooling a Hot Zone

Two years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, Japan is trying new approaches to decontamination while evacuees wait to go home.

Risk Perception and Communication in International Maritime Shipping in Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

This paper investigated the contamination-related impact of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan on seaport activities and international maritime shipping. Risk perception and risk communication after the disaster were analyzed. The maritime-related newspaper articles published in Japan after this disaster were extensively reviewed. Eleven maritime-related agents, including port managers, governments, shipping companies, port operators, and shippers, were interviewed. These interviews were conducted from June to December 2011. The results of the interviews revealed that the contamination-related impact of the power plant disaster comprised impacts on ( a) major Japanese ports, including Keihin ports, that were skipped (not called at) by 42 container vessels operated by non-Japanese shipping companies; ( b) foreign ports and the measurement of radiation of Japanese cargo; and ( c) actions taken by the Japanese government and port managers. The framework of social amplification of risk communication was used to explain the events observed after the disaster. Use of this framework suggests that the risk communication made by maritime stakeholders successfully reduced the amplification of risk among stakeholders at various levels of information sources, information channels, and stations. A summary of lessons from the study includes the identification of factors that influenced the amplification of risk, quick responses, and appropriate countermeasures by authorities and port managers, and the introduction of systematic radiation measurement under the international agreement.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: Generally Applicable Implications from Measurements of Radioactive Contaminations in Some Areas of Ibaraki and Fukushima

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: Generally Applicable Implications from Measurements of Radioactive Contaminations in Some Areas of Ibaraki and Fukushima

マーケットバスケット方式による放射性セシウムおよび放射性カリウムの預託実効線量推定

The Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster after the Great East Japan Earthquake has caused radioactive contamination in food. Using the market basket method, total diet samples in Tokyo, Miyagi prefecture and Fukushima prefecture were analyzed for cesium-134 and -137 (radioactive cesium) and naturally occurring potassium-40 (radioactive potassium) in order to estimate the committed effective doses of these radioactive materials from food. Doses were calculated on the assumption that "not detected" corresponded to zero or to half the limit of detection (values in brackets). The estimated doses of radioactive cesium in Tokyo, Miyagi and Fukushima were 0.0021 (0.0024), 0.017 (0.018) and 0.019 (0.019) mSv/year, respectively. Although the doses in Miyagi and Fukushima were more than 8 times the dose in Tokyo, they were significantly lower than the maximum permissible dose (1 mSv/year) determined by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. The estimated doses of naturally occurring radioactive potassium in these areas were in the range of 0.17-0.20 (0.18-0.20) mSv/year, and there were no significant differences between the areas.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: A Report on Volunteer Activity for Radioactivity Screening of Temporary Returnees to the Evacuation Zone

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: A Report on Volunteer Activity for Radioactivity Screening of Temporary Returnees to the Evacuation Zone

Issues Associated with Radiation Protection after Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

Issues Associated with Radiation Protection after Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

福島第一原子力発電所事故に関する放射線防護上の課題

福島第一原子力発電所事故に関する放射線防護上の課題

Preliminary Numerical Experiments on Oceanic Dispersion of 131I and 137Cs Discharged into the Ocean because of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

(2011). Preliminary Numerical Experiments on Oceanic Dispersion of 131I and 137Cs Discharged into the Ocean because of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology: Vol. 48, No. 11, pp. 1349-1356.

Preliminary Numerical Experiments on Oceanic Dispersion of 131I and 137Cs Discharged into the Ocean because of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

Preliminary Numerical Experiments on Oceanic Dispersion of 131I and 137Cs Discharged into the Ocean because of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster