BABYSCAN, a whole body counter (WBC) for small children was developed in 2013, and units have been installed at three hospitals in Fukushima Prefecture. Between December, 2013 and March, 2015, 2707 children between the ages of 0 and 11 have been scanned, and none had detectable levels of radioactive cesium. The minimum detectable activities (MDAs) for $^{137}$Cs were $\leq 3.5$ Bq kg$^{-1}$ for ages 0-1, decreasing to $\leq 2$ Bq kg$^{-1}$ for ages 10-11. Including the $^{134}$Cs contribution, these translate to a maximum committed effective dose of $\sim 16 \mu$Sv y$^{-1}$ even for newborn babies, and therefore the internal exposure risks can be considered negligibly small. 
Analysis of the questionnaire filled out by the parents of the scanned children regarding their families' food and water consumption revealed that the majority of children residing in the town of Miharu regularly consume local or home-grown rice and vegetables, while in Minamisoma, a majority avoid tap water and produce from Fukushima. The data show, however, no correlation between consumption of locally produced food and water and the children's body burdens.

Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

The article presents the different stages of the co-expertise process, which took place in the community of Suetsugi located about 30 km South from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, to improve radiological protection and the living conditions of the residents. The originality of the process lies in the fact that it was initiated and led by residents of the community with the help of local leaders and volunteer experts. It was also followed regularly by some members of the ICRP. The first part of the article recalls the general characteristics of the co-expertise process for post-nuclear accident management. The second part presents the different stages of the process that took place in the community of Suetsugi. The third part draws some lessons from the experience, which has significantly contributed to enriching the formalisation of the co-expertise process in particular with regard to the recovery of social trust and the role and attitude of experts during the recovery phase after a nuclear accident.

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The post-nuclear accident co-expertise experience of the Suetsugi community in Fukushima Prefecture

This paper describes the involvement of the residents of the Yamakiya district of the Kawamata town, a former evacuation area after the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), in the on-going research activities of the authors on the behaviour of radioactive caesium in the environment. By relying on dialogue, measuring radiation, and other collaborative practices, this involvement enabled a series of actions to be taken to resolve the challenges related to the recovery after the lifting of the evacuation order that were appreciated by the residents. The paper also discusses the effects of the interactive program led by the Yamakiya School organized by the authors in cooperation with the residents including among others lectures, voluntary works and radiological surveys on local issues. Based on the above, the authors make recommendations on the desirable form of relationship between residents and experts after an event of large-scale environmental pollution including radiological contamination. Through these activities the authors have also gradually changed their research approach.

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Dialogue, radiation measurements and other collaborative practices by experts and residents in the former evacuation areas of Fukushima: A case study in Yamakiya District, Kawamata Town

Researchers have not comprehensively considered the contents and objectives of risk communication. In this study, interviews were conducted with 10 risk communicators who worked on risk communication of the various health risks arising after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. We focus on extracting, codifying, and summarizing the contexts, content, and objectives of their work. The objectives of risk communication were identified as “alleviating anxiety and stress,” “supporting decision-making,” “gaining trust,” “promoting understanding,” “deepening mutual understanding,” and “sharing values and empathy”; moreover, there are new additions of higher objectives: “returning to normal life” and “cultivating a wider perspective.” It was suggested that professional expertise, cooperation, and collaboration support and facilitate the attainment of these risk communication objectives. We anticipate that the findings of this study can assist in establishing effective risk communication practices based on the careful consideration of risk communication objectives, social debate on their legitimacy, and the evaluation of their effects.

The structuralization of risk communication work and objectives in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

A case study was conducted in the village of Komarin in Belarus at the edge of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, with the aim of evaluating the spatial and temporal variability in external and internal post-accidental radiation exposure. A database containing the radioactive measurements of foodstuffs made in Komarin over a 1990–2016 period makes it possible to estimate retrospectively the internal exposure. External exposure was prospectively studied through a citizen science approach involving a group of high school students and used two radioactive monitoring approaches, the D-shuttle© dosimeter and the OpenRadiation® system. Results showed that contamination level in food products varied over 2 to 4 orders of magnitude, underlining the usefulness of continuous monitoring of locally produced foodstuffs even more than 30 years after the Chernobyl accident. The study of external exposures showed that the current dose rates were similar to those usually observed elsewhere in the world, without any notable variations. More detailed analysis of these results will be conducted in future studies. This paper focuses on the methods used for the acquisition of data about both external exposure and foodstuff contamination and how it resulted in the strong involvement of high school students which in turn triggered a renewed interest in the practical radiological protection culture within the population of the village.

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Assessment of population radiation exposure at the edge of the exclusion zone 32 years after the Chernobyl accident: Methods and preliminary results

Feedback experiences from Fukushima and Chernobyl situations have clearly shown the importance of involving local stakeholders living in contaminated territories for the rehabilitation of their daily life. In this context, this paper aims to better address the role of radiological protection experts in the recovery phase of post-nuclear accident situation, in mainly relying on the analysis of local initiatives implemented in the Fukushima Prefecture following March 2011. In the first part, this paper highlights the various challenges faced by the population living in contaminated territories, i.e., rehabilitation of the living conditions, ensuring a long-term radiological monitoring, developing public health programs. In a second part, this paper discusses to which extent radiological protection experts can help local population to address these challenges, particularly through the implementation of co-expertise processes and the associated ethical issues and values they should embody. The last part of this paper particularly focuses on two current challenges at stake in the Fukushima Prefecture: the dissemination of the co-expertise process to all affected communities, as well as the sustainability of these approaches over time.

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The role of radiological protection experts in stakeholder involvement in the recovery phase of post-nuclear accident situations: Some lessons from the Fukushima-Daïchi NPP accident

Yumiko Kanai

Papers

The role of radiological protection experts in stakeholder involvement in the recovery phase of post-nuclear accident situations: Some lessons from the Fukushima-Daïchi NPP accident

Significance and Impact of Community Empowerment Including Learning Radiology in a District Formerly Evacuated for Nuclear Disaster