Non-communicable diseases in decontamination workers in areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster: a retrospective observational study

Sawano, Toyoaki; Tsubokura, Masaharu; Ozaki, Akihiko; Leppold, Claire; Nomura, Shuhei; Shimada, Yuki; Ochi, Sae; Tsukada, Manabu; Nemoto, Tsuyoshi; Kato, Shigeaki; Kanazawa, Yukio; Ohira, Hiromichi

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013885

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Sawano et al . have pointed out a high prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases, such as dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, in hospitalized decontamination workers 9) . A casual lifestyle might increase the risk of exertional heat illness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preventive measures and lifestyle habits against exertional heat illness in radiation decontamination workers

Endo

Kakamu

Sato

et al. 2017

Journal of Occupational Health

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sleep deprivation 4,5) and excessive alcohol consumption 6,7) were risk factors for heat illness; however, most of the workers were temporary employees and their lifestyle, in general, was casual 8) . Sawano 9) . A casual lifestyle might increase the risk of exertional heat illness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preventive measures and lifestyle habits against exertional heat illness in radiation decontamination workers

Endo

Kakamu

Sato

et al. 2017

Journal of Occupational Health

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“…Previous studies have reported high rates of alcohol consumption and smoking among decontamination workers following the FDNPP accident (Sawano et al, 2016b). After the Chernobyl accident, workers engaged in clean-up work in Estonia were also reported to be significantly more susceptible to issues with alcohol (Laidra et al, 2015).…”

Section: Alcohol Drinking and Smokingmentioning

confidence: 96%

Review of health risks among decontamination workers after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Sawano

Ozaki²,

Tsubokura

2020

Radioprotection

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In the radiation industry, occupational health is a significantly important issue. As the workers belong to a wide range of socioeconomic classes, the management of the health of the workers, especially in a lower socioeconomic status, such as migrant workers, is essential. After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, migrant decontamination workers were recruited to help clean up and mitigate the ionizing radiation in evacuation zone, in order to resume life. As this was the first attempt at such decontamination work after a nuclear accident, these workers were the first to experience these conditions. However, limited information is available on the health of the workers engaged in this work. This paper comprehensively reviews the existing health risks faced by the workers after the FDNPP accident to provide general health guidelines to mitigate the health risks of decontamination workers in future disasters. Following previous literature, the health risks were categorized by those associated with occupational hazards and those associated with the living environment. Not only a mitigation of the direct occupational hazards, such as radiation exposure, work-related infection and trauma during work, but also the management of lifestyle should be adequately supported for decontamination workers of future nuclear disasters.

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“…A considerable proportion of the decontamination workers are hired from other parts of Japan due to a severe shortage of workers in Fukushima, and almost all of these migrant workers live in workers' dormitories or shared houses, thereby sharing spaces with each other; our case experienced these same circumstances. Poor living conditions are reported to be a possible cause for the high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the decontamination workers 17) .…”

Section: Case Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legionnaires’ disease as an occupational risk related to decontamination work after the Fukushima nuclear disaster: A case report

Sawano¹,

Tsubokura²,

Ozaki³

et al. 2018

Journal of Occupational Health

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Objectives: Legionnaires' disease (LD), which is atypical pneumonia with a broad variety of clinical symptoms, can lead to death despite its low incidence. There are multiple risk factors for LD, yet little information is available concerning what kind of environmental factors are linked to higher risk of LD development. We have experienced a fatal case of LD, which occurred in a decontamination worker after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Case: A 53-year-old Japanese male visited our hospital with symptoms of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and altered mental status, but not with respiratory manifestations. He was engaged in decontamination work, which generally includes operations such as the removal of topsoil in mountainous areas and cleaning roads and roofs of residential buildings with high-pressure water. He was required to wear specific equipment to prevent radiation exposure, and lived in a workers' dormitory or shared house, thereby sharing spaces with other workers. Normal antibiotic therapy did not improve his symptoms following his diagnosis with pneumonia. A urinary antigen detection test was then conducted, leading to a diagnosis of LD. Despite the change of antibiotic to levofloxacin, multiple organ failure led to his death. Conclusion: Decontamination workers may be at a high risk for developing LD and living and working conditions among them are possible contributors.

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Non-communicable diseases in decontamination workers in areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster: a retrospective observational study

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

Preventive measures and lifestyle habits against exertional heat illness in radiation decontamination workers

Preventive measures and lifestyle habits against exertional heat illness in radiation decontamination workers

Review of health risks among decontamination workers after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Legionnaires’ disease as an occupational risk related to decontamination work after the Fukushima nuclear disaster: A case report

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