Frequency of visits to Tomioka town and related factors among evacuees more than a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

• Published in: Journal of radiation research Vol. 64; no. 3; pp. 530 - 537
• Main Authors: Matsunaga, Hitomi, Xiao, Xu, Hande, Varsha, Orita, Makiko, Kashiwazaki, Yuya, Taira, Yasuyuki, Takamura, Noboru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.05.2023
• Subjects: Accidents; Adolescent; Anxiety; Drug dosages; Earthquakes; Evacuation of civilians; Female; Fukushima Nuclear Accident; Global health; Humans; Japan; Motivation; Nuclear accidents; Nuclear accidents & safety; Nuclear Power Plants; Nuclear weapons; Radiation; Regression analysis; Regular paper; Response rates; Risk perception; Statistical analysis; Tsunamis; Japan; Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident; frequency of visits; intention to return
• ISSN: 0449-3060; 1349-9157; 1349-9157
• DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rrad018

This study aimed to clarify the frequency of visits (FOV) to Tomioka town, Japan, and related factors among evacuees more than a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. A questionnaire survey was conducted on residents (age ≥ 18 years) who had residence cards in August 2021. Of the 2260 respondents, the FOV to Tomioka was as follows: 926 (41.0%) more than twice a year (Group 1 [G1]), 841 (37.2%) once a year (G2) and 493 (21.8%) no visits (G3). About 70% of the respondents who had decided not to return to Tomioka visited once a year or more. No significant differences in the FOV or radiation risk perception were found between groups. Multinomial logistic regression analysis using G3 as a reference revealed independent associations between living inside Fukushima in G1 (odds ratio [OR] = 5.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.1–7.3; P < 0.01) and G2 (OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.8–3.0, P < 0.01), undecided about returning in G1 (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.9–3.3, P < 0.01), females in G1 (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.6–2.6, P < 0.01) and motivation to learn more about tritiated water in G2 (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.3–2.4, P < 0.01). Overall, 80% of the residents had visited Tomioka within a decade after the accident. These findings suggest the need to continue the effective dissemination of information about the effects of a nuclear accident and the subsequent decommissioning process to evacuees after evacuation orders have been lifted.