Objectives: To reveal the effect of age and other factors on perceived anxiety over radiation exposure among decontamination workers in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Methods: A survey questionnaire was sent to 1505 workers, with questions regarding age, presence of a written employment contract, previous residence, radiation passbook ownership, presence of close persons for consultation, knowledge of how to access public assistance, and a four-point scale of radiation-related anxiety (1= "Very much," 2= "Somewhat," 3= "A little bit," and 4= "None" ). The relationships between the degree of anxiety and variables were analyzed using the chi-square test and residual analysis. Results: In all, 512 participants responded to the questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 46.2 years (SD: 13.1, range: 18-77). Of them, 50, 233, 168, and 61 workers chose "Very much," "Somewhat," "A little bit," and "None," respectively, on the anxiety scale. Chi-square test showed that participants aged 61 years and over had higher degrees of anxiety (p<0.001). Ordinal logistic regression showed that the degree of anxiety increased if they did not have a written contract (p=0.042) or persons to consult (p=0.034) and if they routinely checked the dose rate (p=0.046). Conclusions: Decontamination workers who do not have a written contract or who are in socially isolated situations have greater anxiety over radiation exposure. Thus, it is important to both create supportive human relationships for consultation and enhance labor management in individual companies.
Risk and preventive factors for heat illness in radiation decontamination workers after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident: Takeyasu Kakamu, et al. Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine Objective The aim of this study was to reveal factors related to heat illness in radiation decontamination workers and determine effective preventive measures. Methods A self‐administered questionnaire was sent to 1,505 radiation decontamination workers. The questionnaire included age, sex, duration of decontamination work, previous occupation, education provided by employers regarding heat illness, preventive action against heat illness, and subjective symptoms of heat illness during work. We included 528 men, who replied and answered all questions, in the statistical analysis. Subjective symptoms of heat illness were categorized as “no symptoms”, “Grade I” and “Grade II” according to severity. A multiple linear regression model was used to determine the factors associated with the severity of heat illness. Results The mean age of the subjects was 47.6 years old (standard deviation: 13.4). Of the 528 workers, 316 (59.8%) experienced heat illness symptoms (213 at Grade I and 103 at Grade II). The results of the stepwise selection revealed that age, outdoor manual labor, adequate sleep, use of a cool vest, and salt intake were selected as preventive factors, whereas living in a company dormitory or temporary housing, wearing light clothing, and consuming breakfast were selected as risk factors for heat illness. Conclusions Both working conditions and living environment are associated with heat illness in radiation decontamination workers. Type of housing and sleep are also strongly related to heat illness during work. Employers should consider not only the working conditions of the employee but also the employee's daily living conditions, in order to prevent heat illness.
Background: During and after the Fukushima nuclear disaster (FND), many parents were concerned about the effects of radiation on the health of their children. Purpose: To clarify the factors that influenced general workers living with children and the effect of child age groups in implementing preventive behaviorsagainst radiation following the FND. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study of preventive behaviors among general workers was carried out 3-5 months after the nuclear disaster. The subjects were 1,394 regular workers, who took part in radiation seminars run by the Fukushima Occupational Health Promotion Center between July and September, 2011. In total, 1,217 responses were submitted, of which 1,110 were eligible for the present study. This anonymous questionnaire survey inquired about the presence and age of children in the household and about radiation preventive behavior implemented after the FND. The contribution of each variable was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results: General workers in Fukushima who lived with younger children performed more preventive behavior against radiation during and after the FND. In particular, both location-related and daily routines were practiced significantly more frequently (p<0.01) by workers living with a child in the age ranges of 0-6 (8 of 10 items) and 7-12 (5 of 10 items). Conclusions: This is the first study to assess the positive association between living with children by age group and increased preventive behavior against radiation implemented by general workers after the FND.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to reveal the current state of preventive measures and lifestyle habits against heat illness in radiation decontamination workers and to examine whether young radiation decontamination workers take less preventive measures and have worse lifestyle habits than the elder workers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Self-administered questionnaires were sent to 1,505 radiation decontamination workers in Fukushima, Japan. Five hundred fifty-eight men who replied and answered all questions were included in the statistical analysis. The questionnaire included age, duration of decontamination work, previous occupation, lifestyle habit, and preventive measures for heat illness. We classified age of the respondents into five groups: <30, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and ≥60 years and defined the workers under 30 years of age as young workers. Logistic regression analysis was used to reveal the factors associated with each lifestyle habit and preventive measures. Results: In comparison with young workers, 50-59-year-old workers were significantly associated with refraining from drinking alcohol. Workers 40 years of age or older were significantly associated with cooling their bodies with refrigerant. Furthermore, 30-39-year-old workers and 40-49-year-old workers were significantly associated with adequate consumption of water compared to young workers. Conclusion: The results of our study suggests that young decontamination workers are more likely to have worse lifestyle habits and take insufficient preventive measures for heat illness. This may be the cause of higher incidence of heat illness among young workers.
These results provide information that may help with the targeting of health information after a nuclear disaster. This may contribute to determining an order of priority when distributing information after a nuclear disaster.
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