Contribution of Hiroshima in the Fukushima
Nuclear Accident
Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University
Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical UniversityKenji Kamiya

It has been almost ﬁve years since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident occurred.
As a result of the committed eﬀorts of the residents, government, Fukushima Prefecture as well as manyother persons involved, we have seen steady steps towards recovery. However, there are still many
problems that should be solved, such as the situation of many residents, who still live as evasuees. We needto make eﬀorts for bringing them home, restoring agriculture and industry and maintaining theinfrastructure. Here, I will talk about how the lessons learnt from Hiroshima can be used in the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, particularly about health management, radiation emergency medicine
and risk communication.
1 . He a l th m an ag e m e n t i n a n u cl e ar disaster

Health management and health promotion of the residents is one of the most important issues in theFukushima recovery. Health management after radiation hazard requires expert eﬀorts such as measuring theresidents' radiation dose determining the health eﬀects as well as taking measures for residents' health.
Fukushima Prefecture is repeatedly carrying out “Fukushima Health Management Survey” to measure theexternal radiation dose of residents and observe their health condition. Hiroshima has specialized institutions
for health care after radiation exposure, which have spent many years analyzing eﬀects by atomic bombradiation on the health of A-bomb survivors and taking care of their health management including diagnosis
and treatment of diseases induced by radiation exposure. These specialized institutions have many years ofexperience and have cultivated knowledge and technology. Many experts from these institutions oﬀered theirsupport in the planning of Fukushima Health Management Survey for the residents.
The Radiation Eﬀects
Research Foundation has carried out
long-term epidemiological studies for
A-bomb survivors over the years, andhas been reporting the mostcomprehensive and accurate data on
the eﬀect of radiation on the humanbody in the world. These data became
the basic materials for international
agencies, such as the UNSCEAR,ICRP, and IAEA to evaluate theeﬀects of radiation on the humanbody. Also those are the mostimportant data in constructing aninternational radiation protection
system. Hiroshima University,

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primarily through the ResearchInstitute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, has examined the mechanism by which leukemia, cancer, andother conditions which are induced by atomic bomb radiation, and has also developed early diagnosis andtreatment for these conditions. Furthermore, the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Casualty Council has many years ofexperience in health examinations and health management for A-bomb survivors, and the Hiroshima Red Cross
Hospital & Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital has experience in diagnosing and treating various diseases thatoccur in the A-bomb survivors. Both of medical associations of Hiroshima Prefecture and Hiroshima City have72

many doctors who have been engaged in health care of A-bomb survivors for many years. These results andexperiences are indispensable for Fukushima Prefecture residents for the long-term health management andearly diagnosis of diseases, so continued support from Hiroshima is still required in various areas.
2.

Dysfunction

oftheradiation exposure medicalsystem and activities ofradiation emergency medicals u p p o rt t e a m

In 2004, Hiroshima University
was designated a tertiary radiation
medical institution by the government
as a hub for radiation emergency
medicine in case of radiation disasters
in Japan. Since then, it has
implemented projects to construct andmaintain the radiation emergency
medical system in charge of westernJapan. As a part of this system, a2

network for related parties wasconstructed and the human resources required for radiation emergency medicine were developed primarily atregional secondary radiation emergency medical institutions. This system was prepared to be able toimmediately dispatch experts through this network in the event of a nuclear accident. In the development of
human resources, training seminars and drills for radiation emergency medicine and radiation dosimetry wereconducted, as well as for decontamination methods, transportation of patients and their treatment.
This is the way in which the radiation emergency system was designed when the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant accident occurred. The accident was the ﬁrst complex disaster experienced by humanity,
where a nuclear disaster occurred in addition to the giant earthquake and tsunami. The infrastructure, such as
water, electricity, roads, and means of communication were destroyed by earthquake and tsunami. As a result,the primary radiation emergency medical institutions lost their abilities to function. Additionally, they werelocated within 10 km from the explored nuclear power plant of TEPCO, and those hospitals themselves became
subject to evacuation, which made it impossible for them to play their role in emergency situation. In this way,
the fact that the accident was a complex disaster added further confusion, and the radiation emergency
medical system did not function as designed. The situation was further complicated by refusals to transport
contaminated persons, refusals for acceptance at hospitals, and uncertainty about how to respond tocontamination levels from screening of residents. However, even in this turmoil, experts trained in the radiation
emergency medical network came to Fukushima as quickly as possible to reconstruct the emergency radiation
medical system.

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As a tertiary radiation
medical institution, Hiroshima
University dispatched 37 groups asradiation emergency medical support
team consisting of over 1,300 people
who supported various activities on
the site. First, we organized the"Radiation Emergency Medical
Coordination Council", laying out aplan so that groups dispatched fromall over Japan could support
contamination screening, aggregate
and manage the data. We also oﬀered
experts for health consultations andcontamination screening for residents.
Following that, we provided support

3at the oﬀ-site center, the governmentʼslocal response headquarters, to make a patient transport ﬂowchart in order to determine the transportation
methods, transportation routes, and accepting medical institutions for exposed patients. At the same time, we
supported the acceptance of patients at the emergency intensive-care unit which was constructed in J-village
to cover the destroyed primary radiation emergency medical system. Residents were temporarily allowed into
the evacuated area. At that time, we were engaged in progress management, guidance and treatment for sickpersons on the site, at a base which was established so that this could be done safely. Furthermore, we
supported Fukushima Medical University, a secondary radiation emergency medical institution, in conducting
internal radiation dose measurements by using whole body counter（WBC）to police oﬃcers and ﬁre ﬁghters,and providing health consultations to residents. HICARE and other organizations also dispatched radiation
medical teams, supporting Fukushima in various ways.
3. Re s i d e n ts ' con ce rn s an d ri sk communication

In a nuclear disaster, naturally, residents are very concerned about the eﬀects radiation could have on

their health. In particular, guardians with children and expecting or nursing mothers are very concerned, andexpert support may even be required. At the ﬁrst stage of the accident, people donʼt have enough knowledge
about radiation itself and the health risks by radiation. In addition, all kinds of information was spreading
through various means of mass media, the Internet and even rumors. It was diﬃcult for residents to decide
what information they should believe. As a result, they ended up having feeling of even more concern andconfusion. Even now, the residents of Fukushima are suﬀering the consequences of incorrect information andmisunderstanding. A typical example of damage from harmful rumors is refusal to buy local farm produce. Inorder to lessen these concerns even a little bit, as well as to control and prevent damage by rumors, risk
communication is critically important.
Many experts from Hiroshima went to Fukushima and engaged in risk communication for theresidents. Fukushima residents were eager to know the experiences of Hiroshima, which has recovered fromthe atomic bomb disaster, and the knowledge about health risks from radiation we learned from A-bombsurvivors. In many cases, they welcomed the experts from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I was appointed aradiation health risk management advisor by Fukushima Prefecture, so that I can convey the lessons fromHiroshima by giving lectures throughout the prefecture about radiation health risks, and explained the eﬀects
of radiation based on science.

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Human Resource Development for Next Generation
Phoenix Leader Education Program（Hiroshima Initiative）for Renaissance from Radiation Disaster
Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima UniversityRadiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University

Kenji Kamiya

Because of the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident,
many residents are concerned about
their health, and the communities
from evacuated areas are in danger ofcollapsing. Farmland and mountain
forests were devastated byenvironmental contamination, and to
make things even worse, sales of farm
produce declined due to Fukushima's
damaged reputation. Peoples' lifestyles
and the regional communities weresplit due to varying individual
priorities. The nuclear disastergravely aﬀected and damaged every
aspect of peoples' lives.

1Hiroshima University dispatched many staﬀ members, supporting Fukushima's recovery. Throughthese activities, we not only saw again that a nuclear disaster gravely aﬀects and damages health, theenvironment, and society, but we also became painfully aware that we are lacking leaders who can give
guidance for recovery from multi-faceted and compound disasters.
To recover from a nuclear
disaster, we need not only medicalscience, but also a wide range ofcross-sectional science and technology,
including radiation science,
environmental science, social science,social psychology, educational science,and engineering science. However,this kind of cross-sectional,
interdisciplinary education is notoﬀered by the graduate schools wehave now, and not only in Japan; thiskind of human resource education is
not carried out even internationally.
As an integrated university in abombed area, Hiroshima University

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has the history and experience ofgiving academic support to the recovery from the atomic bombing, and we have cultivated the expertise,materials, and technology in radiation medicine, radiation environmental science, and bombing recovery socialsciences, which are needed to educate these kinds of leaders. Considering this leadership education to be
Hiroshima University's mission, we established the "Phoenix Leader Education Program（Hiroshima Initiative）
for Renaissance from Radiation Disaster," a Hiroshima University graduate education program. Fortunately,75

this program was selected as a "Program for Leading Graduate Schools" by the Ministry of Education, Culture,Sports, Science and Technology, and was launched in ﬁscal 2011.
This program will educate global leaders who have the judgment and capability to appropriately
respond to radiation disasters, leadrecovery with a clear principle andwork internationally（PhoenixLeaders）.To do this, we will assemble
a cross-sectional expert academics andestablish "radiation disaster recovery
studies," and by educating "humanresources who protect life fromradiation disasters," "human resources
who protect the environment fromradioactivity," and "human resources
who protect people and society fromradioactivity," we will contribute toestablishing a new social system ofsafety and security that will be amodel for the 21st century.
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