Workers at Fukushima feel the pressure of blame

[Nipuna]

It is stressful facing nuclear disaster, especially if the public is blaming you for causing it.

Two to three months after the partial meltdown of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant and the automatic shutdown of the nearby Daini plant, workers at both facilities were asked about symptoms of psychological stress such as feelings of restlessness or depression. They were also asked about stressful events that they had experienced, such as loss of property or a forced evacuation.

Jun Shigemura of the National Defence Medical College in Saitama, Japan, and his colleagues found that workers at both plants experienced similar levels of hostility and public slurs, which were strongly correlated with high levels of stress. This suggests that both groups were seen as having equal responsibility for the meltdown.

"This is the first study in our knowledge to explore discrimination as a factor in post-disaster mental health", says Shigemura.

Workers at the Daiichi plant reported more disaster-related stress events and showed higher levels of psychological stress overall.

Journal reference: JAMA, DOI: 10.1001/jama.308.7.667