Report
Statistics on the Victims of Radiation Exposure in Aomori Prefecture: Problems and Countermeasures during Field Activities
2015 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 75-
Details
2015 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 75-
The aims of this study were 1) to conduct a survey on awareness and the transport system during the radiation disaster in Aomori Prefecture and 2) to analyze the difficulty of information transfer after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power, March 11, 2011, from the standpoint of “problems and countermeasures during field activities for numerous patients exposed to radiation in Aomori Prefecture.”
In particular, the study analyzed the following three points:
1. Results of an exposure awareness survey among the participants of the medical courses on the Aomori Prefecture disaster.
2. The situation with deployment of capital equipment by burn units of a neighborhood fire department.
3. Research on the medical care administered in transport vehicles.
At present, each agency is conducting a variety of activities and training programs on the measures taken in response to a complex radiation disaster. Even if there is a lack of personnel immediately after the disaster, problems with availability and delivery of capital equipment are likely; thus, an ideal emergency response to the disaster was difficult due to many uncertainties.
The personnel and capital equipment are also necessary during a radiation disaster. Emergency management is quite limited if the capital equipment cannot be used properly in case of a disaster such as the Great East Japan Earthquake. Furthermore, in cases where the tissue in direct contact with radioactive material is lost, suitable therapeutic measures have yet to be determined in the affected geographic areas, during active emergency management.
On the basis of the survey of the literature and of the participants of the medical course on the Aomori Prefecture disaster as a result of the first nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima TEPCO, we discussed the current medical response to radiation exposure and the initial response to the problems during a complex disaster. The surveys and research were conducted to devise therapeutic procedures applicable during transport of victims of radiation exposure. We can conclude that there is a need for greater awareness of the radiation disaster in Aomori Prefecture.
