The
Fukushima Accident Lives On
From: Dr Ian Fairlie, The Ecologist
Official data from Fukushima show that nearly 2,000 people died
from the effects of evacuations necessary to avoid high radiation exposures
from the disaster.
The uprooting to unfamiliar areas, cutting of family ties, loss of
social support networks, disruption, exhaustion, poor physical conditions and
disorientation can and do result in many people, in particular older people,
dying.
Increased suicide has occurred among younger and older
people following the Fukushima evacuations, but the trends are unclear.
A Japanese Cabinet Office report stated that, between March 2011
and July 2014, 56 suicides in Fukushima Prefecture were linked to the nuclear
accident. This should be taken as a minimum, rather than a maximum, figure.
Mental
health consequences
It is necessary to include the mental health consequences of
radiation exposures and evacuations. For example, Becky Martin has stated her PhD research at Southampton
University in the UK shows that "the
most significant impacts of radiation emergencies are often in our minds."
She adds: "Imagine
that you've been informed that your land, your water, the air that you have
breathed may have been polluted by a deadly and invisible contaminant.
Something with the capacity to take away your fertility, or affect your unborn
children.
"Even
the most resilient of us would be concerned ... many thousands of radiation
emergency survivors have subsequently gone on to develop Post-Trauma Stress
Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety disorders as a result of their
experiences and the uncertainty surrounding their health."
It is likely that these fears, anxieties, and stresses will act to
magnify the effects of evacuations, resulting in even more old people dying or
people committing suicide.
Such considerations should not be taken as arguments against
evacuations, however. They are an important, life-saving strategy. But, as
argued by Becky Martin,
"We need
to provide greatly improved social support following resettlement and extensive
long-term psychological care to all radiation emergency survivors, to improve
their health outcomes and preserve their futures."
Continue reading at ENN affiliate, The Ecologist.
