Exposure and current health issues in Minamisoma

Abstract

Various reports have shown that internal and external exposure levels of local residents after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were very low. However, there are serious postdisaster health effects in the form of increased prevalence of diabetes and other chronic conditions. Stress, changes in the social environment and in living arrangements, and disruption in healthcare support provided by a network of people have resulted in increasing the cost of care and changing patients’ behaviour, such as delay in visiting a hospital. In addition to radiation protection, it is necessary, when looking after the health of Fukushima residents, to focus on human networking, social infrastructure, and protection of culture and history that are intangible, and not to overlook their roles in health.