engleski

On the Impact to the Human Health from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Nuclear energy has long controversial history with hypes of utopian promises and doom fears ; from ‘electricity too cheap to meter’ to the certain destruction of the world. Three major nuclear accidents (TMI, Chernobyl and Fukushima) helped only to strengthen mostly negative perception of the public. After TMI and Chernobyl understanding of the nuclear accidents impact to human health has considerably improved. This has helped to reduce uncertainty about risk estimates, but too little was achieved regarding the communication of how absolutely and relatively this risk is in fact small. Now with Fukushima there is new potential for even better understanding of the realistic scope of the total nuclear accident impact. Based on the experience with previous accidents obviously there are significant obstacles to achieve that. This paper is presenting current understanding of the impact on the human health from the Fukushima nuclear accident. Focus is given also to the uncertainties, perception, and relative prospective to other non radiation related risks. It is clear from data and assessments that immediate radiation related risk as well as expected long term health impact is even with conservative approach negligible and that it will be most probable impossible to determine it with health monitoring and epidemiological study. However, because of existing perception, lack of thrust and better approach many practical reactions are going to perpetuate negative picture, about radiation and nuclear energy, and perhaps cause some additional psychosocial risk. It is troubling that this induced risk is substantial and it could have been mainly prevented by timely applying experience form previous major accidents thru education, communication and transparency. Because of historical and local circumstance, communication difficulties and lack of sufficient understanding of uncertainties and magnitudes it seems that Fukushima nuclear accident will not be much better case than Chernobyl. This is unfortunate because of potential to improve on existing experience and clear confusion between uncertainty and importance. Considering lack of proper practical learning from previous nuclear accidents it seems that there is no easy way to treat Fukushima accident according to the objective scale of impact. Instead, majority of measures have to account for strong negative public perception and act as like impact is significant. This than in fact is inducing and perpetuating psychosocial problems and eventually increasing real negative heath impacts. Without serious effort to communicate early enough low importance of nuclear accident impact and real meaning of existing scientific uncertainty it will be impossible to change this even after Fukushima accident. This is unfortunate for post Fukushima recovering as well for any future response in the area of nuclear safety, emergency management and new nuclear development.

Fukushima nuclear accident; human health impact; uncertainty; perception; risk communication

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