In this paper, we focus on the results of a screen for depressive symptoms among new mothers and its association with geographical region and interruption of obstetrical care after the Fukushima nuclear accident, which occurred after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. In response, government officials designated a wider zone, extending to a radius of 30 km around the plant, within which residents were asked to remain indoors. Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review. Given the exposure to radioactive iodine during the early phase of the emergency, WHO specifically assessed the risk of thyroid cancer. In 2013 one of these leaks was classified as a level-3 nuclear incident. * Radioactivity measurements were originally published in Nagata et al. Evacuation aims to minimize or prevent health risks of radiation exposure. Eugene Hoshiko/AP. Relationship between the Noto-Peninsula earthquake and maternal postnatal depression and child-rearing. KF designed and supervised the survey. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Sobel-Goodman test was used to confirm the presence of a mediation effect of these two variables, and utilization of the Akaike information criterion confirmed that the two-factor model best fit the data. Another factor of interest in the current study, interruption of post-disaster obstetrical care, significantly increased mothers risk for depressive symptoms. This survey was supported in part by the national Health Fund for Children and Adults Affected by the Nuclear Incident.. Regional radiation levels were determined from the prefectures periodical reports, and interruption in obstetrical care after the Fukushima nuclear accident was determined from mothers individual responses to the questionnaire. A number of lessons were learned that help Japan and all countries better plan, prepare, respond and recovery from potential nuclear accidents. 2023 BioMed Central Ltd unless otherwise stated. Advertisement. The effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident will be felt for decades into the future, say local and international activists on the 10th anniversary of Japan's triple disaster of March. Fukushima : Deaths so far from the radiation: 0. What were the main public health consequences of the disaster? 2014;75:39. In the days that followed, some 47,000 residents left their homes, many people in areas adjacent to the 20-km evacuation warning zone also prepared to leave, and workers at the plant made several attempts to cool the reactors using truck-mounted water cannons and water dropped from helicopters. Is there a risk of radiation-induced thyroid cancer among children of Fukushima prefecture? BMC Psychiatry 15, 59 (2015). However, there are no reports of any such radiation-induced effects in plants and animals outside this area, referred to as the Exclusion Zone. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Hikarigaoka 1, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan, Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Putnam Hall - South Campus, Stony Brook, 11794-8790, NY, USA, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Hikarigaoka 1, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan, You can also search for this author in The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant had also been damaged. In Japan, approximately 18,000 people died or went missing due to an earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region 12 years ago on March 11, 2011 the most powerful quake ever recorded in the country. We especially thank Kohta Suzuki for his expert advice on statistical modeling. Because of concerns over possible radiation exposure, government officials established a 30-km (18-mile) no-fly zone around the facility, and a land area of 20-km (12.5-mile) radius around the plantwhich covered nearly 600 square km (approximately 232 square miles)was evacuated. volume15, Articlenumber:59 (2015) A large area in Soso, the region in which the damaged nuclear power plant is located, was designated as an evacuation zone due to environmental radiation contamination. Population health surveillance will permit the identification of additional needs for the delivery of health care. Furthermore, damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling mechanisms of the Fuhushima Daiichi nuclear reactors. Each plant . However, the psychological effects of Chernobyl remain widespread and profound resulting in suicides, alcohol abuse and apathy. Nuclear disasters can cause widespread death and sickness among wildlife, just like humans. Is there any risk from radioactive food contamination in Japan today? At that time the explosion was thought to have damaged the containment vessel housing the fuel rods. Clin Oncol. In the short term the initial reactor explosion took the lives of 3 plant operators. 2012;22:37583. Seven regions in Fukushima prefecture and radioactivity measurements taken on March 18, 2011*. Goto A, Rudd RE, Bromet E, Suzuki Y, Yoshida K, Suzuki Y, et al. Mishina H, Hayashino Y, Fukuhara S. Test performance of two-question screening for postpartum depressive symptoms. In the human body, iodine concentrates in the thyroid gland. Shusanki Igaku. 13048). Google Scholar. Cite this article. Even more radioactivity was washed into the ocean or deposited there from the atmosphere. Newswise March 8, 2021 - March 11, 2021 will be the 10 th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that caused the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. TEPCO officials reported that the leak was the result of an open valve in the short barrier wall that surrounded several of the tanks used in radioactive water storage. 131I has a radioactive half-life of eight days and can be inhaled with the air and ingested with contaminated food or water, mainly by consumption of contaminated milk and leafy vegetables. For the purpose of this study, delayed respondents were defined as those that responded to the survey only after a reminder had been sent out. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown and ensuing leakage of radioactive materials was a disaster on the scale of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Melted material fell to the bottom of the containment vessels in reactors 1 and 2 and bored sizable holes in the floor of each vessela fact that emerged in late May. Cookies policy. According to a report presented at the annual meeting of the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [5], four childbirth facilities (out of 50 facilities in the prefecture) were shut down during the first month after the disaster. Terms and Conditions, [7], reproduced with publisher permission (License Number 3365080379769). The mental health consequences of human-made toxicological disasters, including nuclear accidents, appear to be more enduring than those that occur following natural disasters [1]. Effects are quantified with a 3-D global atmospheric model driven by emission estimates and evaluated against daily worldwide Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) measurements and observed deposition rates. WHO continues to support Member States in building national capacities for preparedness and response to radiation emergencies and implementing the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). AG managed and analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. most vulnerable of those affected by a nuclear accident because of their inability to fully understand and process the immediate and long-term effects of the . There have been recent reports about thyroid cancer cases being diagnosed among children exposed to low doses of radioactive iodine as a result of the Fukushima accident. Omissions? Article All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Increased risk for postpartum psychiatric disorders among women with past pregnancy loss. The waves, some of which measured more than 40 feet . Psychiatric history was self-reported in the questionnaire and included pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy, and postnatal occurrences. The survey included a two-item screening measure of depression [12], which inquired about feelings of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past month. Additionally, changes in obstetrical facilities could be practical indicators to help health care providers identify those mothers who are most in need. Norio Kimura lost his 7-year-old daughter to the tsunami caused by the earthquake. of radiation exposure due to the accident. Japan's government announced a decision to begin dumping more than a million tons of treated but still radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the . A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Anticipated deaths from the radiation: 0. has estimated individual doses based on typical scenarios of evacuation and time spent indoors and outdoors. The principal latent effect is cancer. During the five years before the disaster, birth rates had been steadily falling in Japan. Statistics Bureau of Japan: Statistics Japan. Workers sought to cool and stabilize the three cores by pumping seawater and boric acid into them. Fukushima accident, also called Fukushima nuclear accident or Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi (Number One) plant in northern Japan, the second worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation. Efforts are needed, both inside and outside Japan, to share the lessons learned from Fukushima around the world. In a previous study of 103 Japanese mothers using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as a gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of the current screening measure was 88% and 76%, respectively [12]. Corrections? The ethics committee of Fukushima Medical University approved this study (No. For the twelve workers who were estimated to have received the highest absorbed radiation doses to the thyroid, an increased risk of developing thyroid cancer and other thyroid disorders was estimated. A second, but smaller, nuclear accident took place in August 2013 when approximately 300 tonnes (330 tons) of irradiated water used in ongoing cooling operations in reactors 1, 2, and 3 was discharged into the landscape surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi facility. While no significant adverse outcomes were observed in the pregnancy and birth survey after the disaster, a higher prevalence ofpostpartum depressionwas noted among mothers in the affected region. Regarding the risk of thyroid cancer in exposed infants and children, It included an evaluation of the risks of cancers, non-cancer diseases as well as public health considerations. Tamaki R, Murata M, Okano T. Risk factors for postpartum depression in Japan. California Privacy Statement, Radiation can cause dramatic reductions in antioxidants, making the birds that travel farthest the most vulnerable to nuclear contamination. Among the 16,001 women targeted, 9,321 returned the questionnaires (response proportion=58.3%) and data from 8,196 women with singleton live births were analyzed. 2014;14:129. Fukushima Health Management Survey Group. What are the health implications of the Fukushima Daiichi NPS (FDNPS) nuclear accident? statement and 2001;43:18993. Soil, 5(2), 333-350. . Those holes partially exposed the nuclear material in the cores. J Womens Health (Larchmt). Bromet EJ, Havenaar JM, Guey LT. A 25year retrospective review of the psychological consequences of the Chernobyl accident. However the process of evacuation itself, especially under the conditions of a severe natural disaster, may pose serious health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations (such as those with disabilities, older populations, young children). 2013;22:7608. It should be noted, however, that there is a general negative correlation between socioeconomic status and overall mental distress [23]. 2014;7:10616. We further found that risk for depressive symptoms was associated with interpersonal problems at home, as well as living in areas with higher radiation levels within the city [8,9]. Richard Wakeford from the Dalton Nuclear Institute, a visiting professor in epidemiology at the University . Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Credit: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty. Alternate titles: Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, Fukushima nuclear accident. What were the main public health consequences of the disaster? A sensitivity analysis based on the assumption that non-respondents would have similar prevalence to delayed responders estimated that the proportion would be 26.5%. Nobody died as a direct result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In addition, there have been more than 2,000 disaster-related deaths. Because of the threat of radiation exposure, some 150,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Table2 shows a wide regional variation in the proportion of mothers with depressive symptoms, with the highest rate in Soso (coastal region) and lowest in Aizu (mountainous region). The current analysis of the population-based FHMS among new mothers confirmed the necessity of providing mental health support to this well-known, high-risk group after a nuclear disaster. As such, in this disaster cohort, younger maternal age, first-time motherhood, past abortion history, psychiatric history, obstetrical complications, and infant abnormalities were all significantly associated with depressive symptoms [18-21]. After adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics, both mothers in Soso, the region in which the nuclear power plant is located, and mothers that had changed obstetrical care facilities were significantly more likely to screen positive for depression. It also gave the name Fukushima an . Havenaar JM, van den Brink W. Psychological factors affecting health after toxicological disasters. Similar to what was observed and reported for the Chernobyl population, the displaced Fukushima population is suffering from psycho-social and mental health impact following relocation, ruptured social links of people who lost homes and employment, disconnected family ties and stigmatization. The disaster that ripped through northern Japan in March 2011 killed more than 19,000 people and prompted a global reckoning with the dangers of nuclear power. [http://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/sec/11045b/17022.html#no.1]. Overview of prefecture municipal economic statistics 2011. In the present study, the risk was elevated in a region nearest to the damaged nuclear power plant. Health systems need to provide effective counselling services and social support in a team approach and people-centered care. 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