Sammendrag
The organization of the follow-up of populations after the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents was very different, as was the scale of the accidents in terms of likely direct somatic effects of the radiation. The size of the exposed population and the levels of doses were, fortunately for the residents of Fukushima prefecture, considerably lower than after the Chernobyl accident..
While the Chernobyl accident has brought new knowledge about radiation induced somatic effects (mainly thyroid cancer risk from intake of Iodine and Tellurium isotopes in children and risk of cataracts at relatively low levels of dose among clean-up workers), both accidents have taught us invaluable lessons about other important health effects of the accidents, including: the avoidable loss of life among the evacuated elderly and severely ill hospitalized patients in Fukushima; and the psycho-social consequences resulting from the response to the accident, evacuations and relocations/resettlements, remediation actions and the presence of radiation. These include serious mental health problems that, in addition to affecting the populations’ wellbeing are a large burden on medical services.
Based on a review of the lessons learnt from these accidents, the SHAMISEN project drew a number of recommendations related to a) evacuation taking into account dose levels, health condition of populations and availability of adequate evacuation means and facilities to receive them; 2) the importance of dose assessment and communication at all phases of the accident, including the importance of allowing citizens to contribute to dose assessment with specially designed dosimeters of mobile phone APPS – which were seen, in Fukushima, to help affected citizens retake control of their lives and overcome fears and depression; 3) the need to adapting/designing health surveillance strategies that address the concerns, needs and expectations of affected populations going beyond simple health monitoring and meeting the broader objectives of improving living conditions of affected populations. This would ideally include engagement of affected populations; 4) improving professional support of affected populations. This could include training and education of medical professionals (doctors, nurses, public health workers), particularly in primary care settings, on radiation effects, post-traumatic stress syndromes, and risk communication.
As a follow-up to SHAMISEN, the SHAMISEN-SINGs project aims to engage stakeholders – including populations potentially affected by a nuclear accident – in the design and testing of APPS or devices that could be used for dose assessment, for monitoring of health and welfare, communication of concerns, and provision of information. Based on the conclusions of SHAMISEN, it is felt that citizen engagement through the use of such APPS and through citizen science, could have an important beneficial effect in reducing the psychological and social impacts of an accident. The aims and status of SHAMISEN-SINGS will be described.
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