2015 Volume 24 Issue 3 Pages 3_74-90
Telephone counseling as a means of communicating with the public about the risks to health posed by radiation exposure was implemented following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This counseling, in which Japan Atomic Energy Agency staff played a supporting role, involved responding to numerous questions on the health effects of radiation raised by residents of Fukushima prefecture after the accident occurred. This paper analyses changes in the questions over time during the six months after the accident, based on our experience of risk communication. The results show that most of the questions soon after the accident focused on identifying what was being done in response to measured data and information on site status, but later the questions shifted to a more personal level, i.e. what individuals should do in order to reduce their risk, such as leaving their hometown, decontamination activities, and future health management. This shift may have occurred due to better understanding of the health risks, followed by identification of the risk, formation of risk images, risk assessment and risk control. The function and method required for risk communication at the earlier stage evolved in accordance with improvement in risk perception by the public. The results also show that the respondents need the ability to communicate, think together and collaborate with the public, shifting risk perception with time, for leading to more effective risk communication. Based on these results, we propose an illustration of a risk communication game taking into account effects of radiation on health as an environmental education material.
