Following a nuclear accident, a major dilemma for affected people is whether to stay or leave the affected area, or, for those who have been evacuated, whether or not to return to the decontaminated zones. Populations who have to make such decisions have to consider many parameters, one of which is the radiological situation. Feedback from Chernobyl and Fukushima has demonstrated that involvement and empowerment of the affected population is a way to provide them with the necessary elements to make informed decisions and, if they decide to return to decontaminated areas, to minimise exposure by contributing to the development of a prudent attitude and vigilance towards exposure. However, involving stakeholders in postaccident management raises the question of the role of experts and public authorities in supporting the inhabitants who have to make decisions about their future. Based on experiences in Chernobyl and Fukushima, this paper will discuss various principles that have to be taken into account by experts and public authorities about their role and position when dealing with stakeholders in a postaccident recovery process.
-The Chernobyl nuclear accident, which occurred on April 26th, 1986, resulted in widespread long-term contamination, mainly due to 137 Cs, of large territories where populations live. A project was initiated to assess the 137 Cs body burden and health status, not limited to radiation-induced pathologies, for all children living in a highly contaminated district in Belarus; the aim was to provide detailed information for parents worried about their children's health, without the intention of quantifying the radiation-induced risk. In total, about 2500 children benefited from these check-ups, which included approximately 30 parameters and were repeated three times between 2005 and 2009. The internal 137 Cs burden was rather low; about 50% of children had less than 10 Bq kg −1 . The health indicators reported in this paper are the global health status, physical development, and frequencies of thyroid modifications and cardiac dysfunctions. The 137 Cs body burden or density deposition did not appear to be strongly associated with these health indicators; other parameters, such as quality of living conditions and rural or urban residence, appeared to be more important. The aim of the project was achieved, as the results provided a global overview of the health status and level of internal contamination of children living in a contaminated territory about 20 years after the accident.
Since November 2011, Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN) experts have participated in the International Commission on Radiological Protection's (ICRP) dialogue initiative for the rehabilitation of living conditions after the Fukushima accident. In 2013, IRSN and Centre d'étude sur l'Evaluation de la Protection dans le domaine Nucléaire (CEPN) launched a study to identify the main lessons that can be learned from these dialogues, and benefit French IRSN experts in the event of a postaccident situation. The main lesson is that in order to protect the inhabitants of contaminated areas efficiently, experts must work in cooperation with local actors to develop a co-expertise process. The availability of measurement devices for inhabitants is crucial to allow them to assess their own radiological situation. Measuring radioactivity makes it visible, and allows individuals to discuss the results in their communities and develop local projects to improve their daily life. Eventually, inhabitants create a practical radiological protection culture to manage their situation. However, helping people to protect themselves does not mean that authorities and experts have no responsibilities, and this calls for strong ethical principles such as not making decisions for people about their future. To be helpful, scientists need to understand that, as necessary as radiation protection is, it is not the only problem that inhabitants are facing and it cannot control people's lives. Radiation protection experts must commit themselves to be at the service of individuals and the community, and the issues they want to address.
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