Epidemiological assessment of environmental hazards at Ground Zero

Ground Zero at Fukushima
The meltdown of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in 2011 in Japan resulted in concerns of the spread of thyroid cancer among the population. The epidemiology of radiation has long been studied and the consensus opinion is that the lower the exposure to radiation, the lower the risk (Boice, 2012). While an increase in thyroid cancer among the population in the vicinity of the Fukushima disaster has been identified, these findings have been questioned by many researchers like Takahashi et al. (2016) because of the limitations of the methodology flawed assessment techniques involved. To date, the research has shown that exposure to radiation is low in the area, and that in areas where groundshine radiation levels are higher, evacuation protocols have been followed to reduce the risk of exposure among the populace.
The epidemiological considerations that arise in the wake of a disaster are based on the what, where, when and why questions associated with the population and the health issues that are related to the disaster. In any disaster, the epidemiological concern is with the risks to the populace’s health and how those risks are identified and communicated in terms of effecting public policy that protects the public and addresses the disaster-related issues directly. What makes disaster planning or emergency preparedness effective in terms of mitigating or preventing negative aftereffects depends upon the extent to which the epidemiologists have done their work, identified the public health threats that might flow from a disaster, and shown what steps can be taken to protect the public from these threats. Emergency preparedness measures should be based on the epidemiological considerations and should be implemented with alacrity in the event of a disaster occurring—even beforehand in terms of safety regulations that should be followed by stakeholders to prevent massive public health exposure in the first place in the event of a disaster.
With the Fukushima Nuclear Plant meltdown, the risk of exposing the populace of Japan to nuclear radiation was feared; however, the nature of the meltdown kept the radiation levels mostly low in areas where the population might have been at risk, and in the one region where people might have been most exposed to higher levels of radiation, the populace was evacuated. The public health issue was primarily a risk of thyroid cancer related to exposure to high radiation levels, but as the research has shown, the radiation levels stemming from the meltdown have been of a very low dosage and the one study that did indicate a higher rate of thyroid cancer cancers among the populace nearest the Fukushima disaster was not scientifically conducted with any degree of academic rigor and numerous researchers objected to the study’s outcomes (Boice, 2012; Takahashi et al., 2016).
The factors that made the nation’s response effective was its awareness of the epidemiological issues related to nuclear fallout and radiation exposure. As Japan had already dealt with the issue of radiation exposure earlier in its history in the 20th century as a result of two nuclear bombs being detonated—one of Hiroshima and one over Nagasaki—its scientists and policy makers were well aware of the inherent risks associated with high levels of radiation. So the policy that was implemented when the Fukushima plant melted down was to evacuate those persons who were likely to be exposed to the highest levels of radiation in the vicinity. This policy has been effective in mitigating the risk of thyroid cancer development so far—but as Takahashi et al (2016) point out, more studies of the general population need to be conducted in order to verify the limited risk associated with low levels of radiation exposure.

References
Boice Jr, J. D. (2012). Radiation epidemiology: a perspective on Fukushima. Journal of
Radiological Protection, 32(1), N33.
Takahashi, H., Ohira, T., Yasumura, S., Nollet, K. E., Ohtsuru, A., Tanigawa, K. &
Ohto, H. (2016). Re: Thyroid cancer among young people in Fukushima. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 27(3), e21.