Risk communication practice after TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in the case of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories; risk communication with Fukushima residents during whole-body counting (WBC) examinations

Yonezawa, Rika; Gunji, Ikuko; Sugiyama, Kenji; Ayame, Junko ; Takashita, Hirofumi 

At the request of the government of Japan and Fukushima prefecture, the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories and the Nuclear Science Research Institute of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) conducted the internal dosimetry examination program for the residents of Fukushima prefecture (Fukushima residents) affected by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident by whole-body counting (WBC) starting in July 2011, the year of Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. At the internal dosimetry examination, almost Fukushima residents worried about effects of radiation and suffered from various serious situations, which were caused by not only the nuclear accident but also the earthquake and tsunami. Therefore, JAEA had direct dialogue focused on active listening, as risk communication with Fukushima residents in order to mitigate Fukushima residents' anxiety and stress. This report evaluates the effects of the activities and shows the ways of our communication with Fukushima residents during WBC to mitigate Fukushima residents' anxiety and stress.