title: Internal radiation exposure of Ground Self-Defense Force members involved in the management of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster.
abstract: When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) was dispatched nationally to Northeast area in Japan. The highly trained GSDF members were simultaneously assigned to various missions for the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants disaster. The missions of GSDF terminated on August 31, 2011. Special medical examinations were conducted for the members as they returned to each military unit. GSDF members who were assigned to the nuclear power plant were at risk of radiation exposure; therefore, pocket dosimeters were used to assess external radiation exposure. A few months after the mission was terminated, measurements of internal radiation exposure were performed. This is the first report of the internal exposure of GSDF members who worked in the restricted radiation contamination area. Here, we report the amounts of internal and external exposure of and the equipment used by the GSDF members.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Japan Self-Defence Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24 Setagayaku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Naoi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Japan Self-Defence Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24 Setagayaku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Japan Self-Defence Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24 Setagayaku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukishige
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kyoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Japan Self-Defence Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24 Setagayaku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kunishima
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Japan Self-Defence Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24 Setagayaku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Center, Japan Self-Defence Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24 Setagayaku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D002959:Civil Defense; D015331:Cohort Studies; D055866:Earthquakes; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008889:Military Personnel; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011874:Radiometry; D018635:Rescue Work