Fukushima – The Response was Worse than the Event

Abstract

  In physical terms Fukushima was a middle-ranking industrial accident of the kind that happens perhaps eight or ten times each year round the world. The response, and especially the irrational prevention of people from returning to their homes in areas where there was hardly any contamination, turned it into a serious human tragedy. Authorities need to recognise that there is no such thing as ‘erring on the side of caution’ – any counter-measure that is not justified by the best scientific understanding of real risks will create human misery and should be steadfastly resisted.