Response to the radiological disaster

The nuclear accident in Fukushima added a new dimension to the JRCS relief and recovery operation. To lessen anxiety or uneasiness rooted in health risk due to exposure to radiation, the JRCS also established the Red Cross Nuclear Disaster Resource Centre inside its organisation, as an organisational set up to formulate its safety guidelines for medical relief teams, and manage and operate digital archives, etc. to send out relevant information both in Japanese and English.

The funds were allocated to cover for the following activities.

Figure 5-19 List of activities
	Programme	The forms of support
	Programme	Donation of materials	Support of personnel, knowledge, and experience	Subsidies
1	Whole Body Counter and thyroid gland monitoring (Fukushima)	〇
2	Provision of food radiation measuring equipment	〇
3	Nuclear Disaster Preparedness Project

1. Donation of materials

(1) Whole Body Counter and thyroid gland monitoring (Fukushima) (FY2011)

Whole Body Counter to measure internal radiation exposure. (c) Nobuyuki Kobayashi

Due to demographic change in Fukushima Prefecture after the nuclear power plant accident, local medical needs in the affected area have changed. In response to these changes, the Fukushima Red Cross Hospital reconstructed their facilities to deal with disaster medicine by enhancing prevention and examination medicine, outpatient care and emergency medical system. Fukushima Prefectural Government has conducted continuous health management surveys to evaluate the impact of radiation on human bodies and to detect physical disorders earlier.
The JRCS has participated in this activity and donated medical equipment to the Fukushima Medical University Hospital, which had to carry all the responsibilities to conduct health management survey for all the Fukushima citizens. In addition, the JRCS donated eight whole-body counters and two thyroid Gland Monitors for the examination of internal exposure to radiation to the public hospitals.
Target area: Fukushima
Target of people assisted: residents in Fukushima
Number of Whole-Body Counter (WBC) provided: 8 units,
Number of Thyroid Gland Monitor (TGM) Provided: 2 units
Number of medical equipment provided: 73 items
Number of people assisted through the reconstructed facilities of the Fukushima Red Cross Hospital(estimated): approximately 219,000
Number of people assisted through the donation of WBC to 7 municipalities and equipment to the Fukushima Medical University (estimated): approximately 27,000-57,000

Figure 5-20 List of facilities and municipalities medical equipment provided
Name of facilities and municipalities	No. of equipment provided
Fukushima Red Cross Hospital	WBC 1 unit and TGM 2 units
Fukushima Prefectural Government	WBC 1 unit
Fukushima City	WBC 1 unit
Koriyama City	WBC 1 unit
Futaba Town	WBC 1 unit
Naraha Town	WBC 1 unit
Shirakawa City	WBC 1 unit
Hirono Town	WBC 1 unit
Fukushima Medical University	73 items (49 types of equipment)

(2) Provision of food radiation measuring equipment (FY2011- 2012)

In May 2012, Food safety check by Becquerel monitors (Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture) (c) Nobuyuki Kobayashi

Fukushima had started to conduct measurements on the air dose rate and internal radioactivity substances level in order to relieve the concerns of residents in the prefecture regarding the health impact of the radiation. Under these conditions, radioactive substances exceeding the safety standards were detected in food harvested in Fukushima Prefecture, which led widespread concerns about food safety. The JRCS received requests for assistance for food radiation measuring equipment from Fukushima and Miyagi Prefecture.
The purpose of this project is to relieve people’s concerns about food safety and provide reassurance about both the physical and mental health aspects to the residents in Fukushima and Miyagi who have concerns associated with radiation problems. To this end, the JRCS implemented the donation of food radiation measuring equipment, complementing the support provided by the national and prefectural governments.
The JRCS procured and provided a total of 109 items of food radiation measuring equipment to 3 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture and the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education.
Target area: Miyagi and Fukushima
Target of people assisted: residents in Miyagi and Fukushima
Number of food radiation measuring equipment provided: 109 units (3 units in Miyagi and 106 units (65 places) in Fukushima)
Number of people assisted: approximately 48,000 – 113,000 (14,000-28,000 in Miyagi and 34,000-85,000 in Fukushima)

2. Other form of support

(1) Nuclear Disaster Preparedness Project
Establishment of Red Cross Nuclear Disaster Resource Centre (NDRC)

Based on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, the JRCS established the “Red Cross Nuclear Disaster Resource Centre” (NDRC) at its Headquarters to prepare for potential nuclear disasters in the future in October 2013..
There are four core activities for the NDRC: 1) development of “Nuclear Disaster Guidelines for Preparedness, Response and Recovery” in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); 2) sharing information to address a nuclear disaster response through its Digital Archives; 3) organization of seminars and training by NDRC; and 4) contribution to strengthen the capacity to respond nuclear disasters.

Red Cross Nuclear Disaster Resource Centre (NDRC) Digital Archives (c) JRCS

a. Red Cross Nuclear Disaster Resource Centre (NDRC) Digital Archives (FY2013-2020) The JRCS collected and disseminated information on the relief activities in Fukushima, its nuclear disaster seminars organized through its Digital Archives, and posted related activities to prepare for nuclear disasters by the government and municipalities on its pages.

Radiation Emergency Medical Care Advisors Meeting in 2019. (c) JRCS

b. Nuclear Disaster Response Basic Training Sessions (FY2014-2020) Nuclear Disaster Response Basic Training Session was held as one of the efforts to strengthen the nuclear disaster response based on the lessons learned from the GEJET. It is addressed for physicians, radiological technicians, nurses, administrative staff working at the JRCS hospitals and the JRCS Chapter. The purpose of the training was to learn basic knowledge about radiation and radiation emergency medicine system in Japan and how to use radiation protection equipment and materials in order to engage in relief activities in a radiological environment safely and with ease. The first session of the training was held in November 2014. 15 sessions of the trainings have been organized by 2020.
Number of sessions held by 2019: 15 sessions

Nuclear Disaster Response Basic Training Session in Mastue in 2017 (c) JRCS

c. Radiation Emergency Medical Care Advisors Meeting (FY2015-2020)

The JRCS developed the Guidelines, deployed equipment, and materials for radiation protection to JRC hospitals and facilities across Japan and has also provided “JRCS Nuclear Disaster Response Basic Training Session” for its relief teams. In addition to these efforts, the JRCS organized “JRCS Meeting of Radiation Emergency Medical Care Advisors”.

Radiation Emergency Medical Care Advisors members are comprised of physicians and radiological technologists who work at Japanese Red Cross hospitals and are assigned as radiation emergency medical care advisors by the JRCS.
The JRCS’s “radiation emergency medical care advisors” will be dispatched to headquarters of Disaster Control (HDC) at the JRCS Headquarters or a chapter in the affected area to give advice there when HDC needs to decide on the policy for deployment of relief teams.
The advisors will also provide radiation dose management for JRCS responders.

Since 2016, the program has been implemented by geographical groups, dividing the country into 6 blocks and allowing each block to hold their session separately so that the training will be more adaptive to the geographical uniqueness of the area housing the nuclear power plant(s) and to the situation of the local chapters and their facilities. Ten sessions of the meeting have been organized by 2020 where they discussed vigorously on operation of the JRCS safety standards in the event of a nuclear disaster in order to continue relief activities while securing the safety of JRCS staff who live in an affected area; Japanese Red Cross Hospitals’ efforts for a hospital evacuation; communication with survivors in the event of nuclear disaster which emerged over the course of developing the Guidelines; a revision of the Manual of Relief Activities under Nuclear Disasters; a review of the training materials for Nuclear Disaster Response Basic Training Session.

Number of sessions held by 2020: 10 sessions

A booklet “Communication with Affected People during a Nuclear Disaster” developed in 2017 (c) JRCS

d. Production of a Booklet “Communication with Affected People during a Nuclear Disaster” (FY2017)
The booklet was developed out of the learning from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.
During the Nuclear Power Plant Accident, accurate information was not shared and various opinions on health effects from radiation spread. Under this situation, affected people had to spend prolonged anxious days both physically and mentally due to fear for radiation exposure. Relief team members who will face to affected people in a nuclear disaster highly likely have situations receiving inquiries or requests for advice from affected people about an accident and/or radiation. For this reason, by getting advice from experts the JRCS developed a booklet covering the methodology of relief activities, psychological status of the affected people, and basic matters such as the principles in establishing communication with affected people during a nuclear disaster.