Risk communication in the case of the Fukushima accident: Impact of communication and lessons to be learned

Abstract

Risk communication about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011 was often not transparent, timely, clear, nor factually correct. However, lessons related to risk communication have been identified and some of them are already addressed in national and international communication programmes and strategies. The Fukushima accident may be seen as a practice scenario for risk communication with important lessons to be learned. As a result of risk communication failures during the accident, the world is now better prepared for communication related to nuclear emergencies than it was 5 years ago The present study discusses the impact of communication, as applied during the Fukushima accident, and the main lessons learned. It then identifies pathways for transparent, timely, clear and factually correct communication to be developed, practiced and applied in nuclear emergency communication before, during, and after nuclear accidents. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:683-686. © 2016 SETAC.

Lingering health-related anxiety about radiation among Fukushima residents as correlated with media information following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

“…When nuclear accidents requiring high-level expertise occurred, scientific knowledge and medical knowledge of media managers, reporters and program makers inside the mass media institutions proved to be insufficient [41, 42]. At the same time, the scientists and scholars did not focus on providing information suitable to the public.…”

Guidance on communicating about uncertainties in nuclear emergency management

“…Communication strategies developed by different EU projects, as well as by risk communication researchers, for instance in European projects PREPARE, EAGLE (Perko et al, 2016b), CONCERT (Perko et al, 2019b), ARGOS, etc. highly advise to include information about uncertainties when communicating with the public, since it helps people to make informed decisions (Shirabe et al, 2015;Perko, 2016;Perko et al, 2016a). It is also advised that emergency actors admit uncertainties in communication to public(s) (IAEA, 2012(IAEA, , 2015OECD/NEA, 2015;Jensen et al, 2017).…”

Broadening and strengthening stakeholder engagement in emergency preparedness, response and recovery

“…Although identifying stakeholders in EPR & R is complex and challenging, previous nuclear emergencies increased awareness on the importance of risk communication and stakeholder engagement in emergency management, as a lack of communication and engagement can result in inadequate responses and delayed recovery (Lochard, 2013;Perko, 2016;Sato, 2016;Schneider et al, 2019). This awareness is reflected in a number of guidelines that call for stakeholder engagement in nuclear EPR & R (e.g.…”