Mental Illness, Not Radiation Sickness is Top Risk for Nuclear Disaster Victims

“Although the radiation dose to the public from Fukushima was relatively low, and no discernible physical health effects are expected, psychological and social problems, largely stemming from the differences in risk perceptions, have had a devastating impact on people’s lives”, said Dr Tanigawa.

Repeat evacuations and long-term displacement bring severe health care problems for the most vulnerable, the authors highlight.

At least a third of the world’s 437 nuclear power plants have even more people living within that distance – 21 have more than a million people nearby, and six have more than 3 million. The researchers looked at the enduring radiological and psychological impact of nuclear disasters on the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “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)”, Arifumi Hasegawa, MD, of the Fukushima Global Medical Science Center, and colleagues wrote. In 2006, the United Nations Chernobyl Forum reports concluded that the nuclear disaster’s most devastating public health issues are the effects on the mental health. The mental health of the people took a worse turn because of lack of proper communication about the risks od radiation levels in the area. The rates of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder remain elevated up to 20 years after the accident.

However, the study points out to the fact that those exposed to the events at and near Fukushima first hand are five times more likely to have suffered a psychological hit.

Comparing Chernobyl with Fukushima might seem a bit out of place, since the former also caused more than 100 known hundred radiation related deaths and possibly thousands of other unknown medical side effects through the radiation cloud it dispersed, while the latter has no casualties to its name yet.

“Perhaps the biggest lesson we need to learn from past releases of radiation is how to communicate the real potential risks in the case of any future accidents”.

“Physicians must play a key role in helping residents understand the health risks”. Kenji Kamiya, vice president of Hiroshima University in Japan.

The authors present critical evidence that cancer risk increases significantly after exposure to moderate and high doses of radiation (upwards of 0.1-0.2Gy [4]), but it remains unclear whether risk is increased at lower doses (0.1Gy or less).

However, there are still problems with stigma, Dr Tanigawa’s study reported, particularly among women from Fukushima, owing to “misconceptions” about the effects of radiation on future pregnancy and children’s health.