title: Risk Communication Strategies: Lessons Learned from Previous Disasters with a Focus on the Fukushima Radiation Accident.
abstract: It has been difficult to both mitigate the health consequences and effectively provide health risk information to the public affected by the Fukushima radiological disaster. Often, there are contrasting public health ethics within these activities which complicate risk communication. Although no risk communication strategy is perfect in such disasters, the ethical principles of risk communication provide good practical guidance.
  
  
  
  These discussions will be made in the context of similar lessons learned after radiation exposures in Goiania, Brazil, in 1987; the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, Ukraine, in 1986; and the attack at the World Trade Center, New York, USA, in 2001. Neither of the two strategies is perfect nor fatally flawed. Yet, this discussion and lessons from prior events should assist decision makers with navigating difficult risk communication strategies in similar environmental health disasters.
authors: Medical University of South Carolina, 135 Cannon Street, Suite 303, MSC 835, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA. esvendse@tulane.edu.
authors: Erik R
authors: ER
authors: Svendsen
authors: Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health, 2-3-6, Minami, Wako City, Saitama, 351-0197, Japan.
authors: Ichiro
authors: I
authors: Yamaguchi
authors: Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Okayama City, 700-8530, Japan.
authors: Toshihide
authors: T
authors: Tsuda
authors: Inst. de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Lab. de Tracadores, Bloco G, CCS, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil.
authors: Jean Remy Davee
authors: JRD
authors: Guimaraes
authors: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Ullerakersvagen 40, SE-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Tondel
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: Ethics; Fukushima accident; Management; Radiation; Risk communication