The Communication of Information Such as Evacuation Orders at the Time of a Nuclear Power Station Accident: -Recommendations for responses by the national government and electric power utilities to the "Information Disaster"

• Published in: Japan Medical Association journal Vol. 57; no. 5-6; pp. 293 - 319
• Main Authors: Hatanaka, Takashi, Yoshida, Sumito, Ojino, Mayo, Ishii, Masami
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japan Medical Association 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Research and Reviews; Information disaster; Venting; TEPCO; Fukushima Daiichi; Evacuation order; SCRAM
• ISSN: 1346-8650; 2188-8426

This research was carried out from the perspective that the damage to the people of Fukushima and others from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) accident was an "information disaster." It evaluated the critical problems raised by and actual condition analysis on the process of events in the Fukushima Daiichi NPS disaster and responses of the governments and others, notification of the occurrence of the accident and evacuation order by the national and local governments and the evacuation of residents, and guidance for distribution and intake of stable iodine tablets. The research aimed to provide a basis for the implementation of effective distribution and intake of stable iodine tablets and responses to the "information disaster" in the nuclear power disaster. On March 15 at the time that the most radioactive substances were dispersed, even when the average wind speed at the site area was 1.6 m/s, the radioactive substances had reached the outer boundary of Urgent Protective action planning Zone (UPZ, the region with a radius of 30 km) within about five hours. Because of this, every second counted in the provision of information about the accident and the issuance of evacuation orders. This study evaluated the actual condition of information provision by the national government and others from the perspective of this awareness of the importance of time. On the basis of the results of this kind of consideration, we come to the following recommendations: The Nuclear Emergency Response Guidelines and the system for communication of information to medical providers should be revised. The national government should make preparations for the effective advance distribution and intake of stable iodine tablets.