Health effects of radiation and other health problems in the aftermath of nuclear accidents, with an emphasis on Fukushima

Arifumi Hasegawa; Koichi Tanigawa; Akira Ohtsuru; Hirooki Yabe; Masaharu Maeda; Jun Shigemura; Tetsuya Ohira; Takako Tominaga; Makoto Akashi; Nobuyuki Hirohashi; Tetsuo Ishikawa; Kenji Kamiya; Kenji Shibuya; Shunichi Yamashita; Rethy K Chhem

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61106-0

Health effects of radiation and other health problems in the aftermath of nuclear accidents, with an emphasis on Fukushima

Lancet. 2015 Aug 1;386(9992):479-88. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61106-0.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
² Fukushima Global Medical Science Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan. Electronic address: tanigawa@fmu.ac.jp.
³ Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
⁴ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
⁵ Department of Disaster Psychiatry, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Japan.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
⁸ Department of Radiation Emergency Medical Assistance Team Medical Section, Chiba, Japan.
⁹ National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
¹² Department of Experimental Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
¹³ Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁴ Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
¹⁵ Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

PMID: 26251393
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61106-0

Abstract

437 nuclear power plants are in operation at present around the world to meet increasing energy demands. Unfortunately, five major nuclear accidents have occurred in the past--ie, at Kyshtym (Russia [then USSR], 1957), Windscale Piles (UK, 1957), Three Mile Island (USA, 1979), Chernobyl (Ukraine [then USSR], 1986), and Fukushima (Japan, 2011). The effects of these accidents on individuals and societies are diverse and enduring. Accumulated evidence about radiation health effects on atomic bomb survivors and other radiation-exposed people has formed the basis for national and international regulations about radiation protection. However, past experiences suggest that common issues were not necessarily physical health problems directly attributable to radiation exposure, but rather psychological and social effects. Additionally, evacuation and long-term displacement created severe health-care problems for the most vulnerable people, such as hospital inpatients and elderly people.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Disasters / statistics & numerical data*
Fukushima Nuclear Accident*
Humans
Japan
Nuclear Power Plants*
Public Health*
Radiation Injuries / epidemiology
Radioactive Hazard Release / psychology
Refugees / psychology*
Russia
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States