See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/221827508

The 2011 Japanese Earthquake: An Overview of Environmental Health Impacts

Article  in  Journal of environmental health · January 2012

Source: PubMed

CITATIONS READS
13 3,585

4 authors, including:

Ami Ruffing Victor White

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Montana State University Billings
1 PUBLICATION   13 CITATIONS    1 PUBLICATION   13 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Forward modelling of mantle magnetic anomalies View project

I'm revising old chapters and adding new, updated chapters to the 10th edition of "The Fundamentals of Imaging Physics and Radiobiology" textbook. View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Victor White on 09 November 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 A d van c ement o f the Science

 S P E C I A L R E P ORT Pre-published digitally July/August 2011,

National Environmental Health Association.

The 2011 Japanese Earthquake:

An Overview of Environmental
Health Impacts
Dhitinut Ratnapradipa, PhD, MCHES
James Conder, PhD
Ami Ruffing, MS
Victor White, MS, CHES

bottom image (Figure 1). Many hundreds of

aftershocks, ranging into the mid 7s in mag-
A b s t r a c t A magnitude 9.0 earthquake rupturing the Earth’s nitude, have occurred and will continue to
crust nearly 130 km off the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, triggered occur over the better part of the coming year,
a tsunami that reached the Japanese coast approximately 30 minutes later. underscoring the instability of the situation.
The purpose of this article is to provide an
The combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami (known as the Tohoku
overview of the spectrum of the natural di-
event) devastated the area of northeast Japan, resulting in widespread saster and its environmental health impact to
infrastructure destruction, loss of life, and environmental contamination. the human population.
Perhaps the longest-lasting impact of the Tohoku event will result from the As the Earth is a dynamic planet, the
damage to the nuclear power plants along the coast and the subsequent health and well-being of human society have
always been susceptible to impacts from
release of radioactive elements into the environment. This article
natural events. Earthquakes in particular
describes the environmental impacts of the disaster and highlights the have a long history of significantly impact-
interconnectedness among the core areas of environmental health including ing societies through direct effects of build-
air quality, water quality, weather/climate change, food safety, healthy ing collapse and infrastructure damage due
housing, waste/sanitation, infectious disease/vector control, radiation, to ground shaking and subsequent disasters
such as fires and tsunamis. Earthquakes oc-
injury prevention, emergency preparedness, and toxicology. The purpose of
cur wherever stresses build up in the Earth’s
this article is to provide an overview of the spectrum of the natural disaster crust beyond its elastic breaking point (Stein
and its environmental health impact to the human population. Future & Wysession, 2003). Stresses build relative-
scientific analysis may confirm or challenge the information presented here. ly quickly (thereby inducing earthquakes)
at tectonic boundaries where two or more
plates come in contact with one another. For
example, the San Andreas fault in Califor-
Introduction facing the tsunami propagation direction, suf- nia delineates where the Pacific and North
On March 11, 2011, at 2:46:23 p.m., a mag- fered the most devastating effects with a wall American plates slide against one another. In
nitude (M) 9.0 earthquake occurred approxi- of water exceeding a height of 10 m in places. addition to sliding against each other, a plate
mately 130 km off the east coast of Japan In areas of subdued topography, the tsunami also may be pushed beneath its neighbor in
(U.S. Geological Survey [USGS], 2011). The raced several kilometers inland before reced- a process known as subduction (Figure 2).
earthquake, known as the Tohoku event, was ing, as evidenced by the moderate resolution Many populous regions including much of
the fourth-largest recorded since the advent imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite China, Japan, the Mediterranean, the Carib-
of modern seismometry more than 100 years images (National Aeronautics and Space Ad- bean, Indonesia, South America, and western
ago. The energy release was equivalent to an M ministration, 2011) (Figure 1). North America including the San Andreas
9.4 event including the subsequent faulting in The impact of the tsunami is readily ap- fault in California are near plate boundaries
the following 25 minutes (Ishii, 2011). Along parent from the extent of deposited silts and (DeMets, Gordon, & Argus, 2010) and thus
with severe shaking of the island nation, the sands that reached several kilometers inland, prone to significant seismic risk.
earthquake triggered a tsunami affecting the over almost all the populated regions in the Because this article is meant to illuminate a
entire Pacific rim. The northeast coast of Ja- images. Standing water and extensive sedi- recent event, fewer scientific sources could be
pan, the region closest to the epicenter and ments are seen throughout both cities in the used as references than we would normally

42 Volume 74 • Number 6
 Geological Setting of
Earthquake and Tsunami
FIGURE 1
The country of Japan sits at the junction
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Satellite of several converging tectonic plates (Fig-
Images of Ishinomaki, Higashimatsushima, and Tagajo ure 3). Notably, the Pacific plate subducts
below (is pushed underneath) northern
Honshu along the Japan trench at a rate
of 93 mm/yr., while the Philippine plate
subducts beneath southern Honshu along
the Nankai trough at a rate of 58 mm/yr.
Ish
Hig (DeMets et al., 2010). As the plates sub-
duct they tend to lock with the overriding
plate, thereby building up tectonic strain.
When the strain becomes larger than the
strength of the locked fault surface, the
fault causes an earthquake. The magni-
tude of the event depends on both the area
of the strain and the amount of slip along
the interface. The M 9.0 Tohoku event oc-
Tag curred along the Pacific plate. The fault
rupture area was nearly 400 km long and
150 km wide (Ishii, 2011; USGS, 2011)
5 km with slip as great as 32 m (Geospatial In-
formation Authority of Japan, 2011). A
portion of the northeastern Honshu per-
manently shifted more than 4 m eastward
and dropped three-quarters of a meter
downwards (Geospatial Information Au-
thority of Japan, 2011).
The Tohoku earthquake was felt around
the world, and three traces of a seismogram
recorded at Southern Illinois University in
Carbondale, Illinois, show ground move-
ment in three perpendicular directions
(Figure 4). Four distinct arrivals can be
observed: Direct P and S along with Love
and Rayleigh surface waves. The spacing
in time arises from the waves traveling at
different speeds. All waves hit Japan within
a minute. The extended-duration, large-
amplitude shaking arose from the surface
waves (Figure 4).
5 km Because shallow subduction occurs along
deep ocean trenches and entails a signifi-
cant amount of vertical motion, a resulting
earthquake can transmit energy efficiently
False color satellite images. Top image taken several days before the earthquake and tsunami. Bottom image taken four
into the water column above, leading to a
days afterwards. Red color shows vegetation. Dark blue is water. Buildings, pavement, and other artificial structures are tsunami. In the open ocean, a tsunami trav-
white to light bluish hues depending on the reflectivity of the surface. Silts and sands are brown and brownish-gray. els at a speed of roughly 800 km/hr. with
Images courtesy of NASA/GSFC, MODIS rapid response.
an amplitude of less than a meter. As the
wave enters shallow water, however, the
increased drag on the seafloor slows the
prefer. Moving forward, more in-depth sci- will undoubtedly occur. Many of these future wave and amplifies crest height, potentially
entific analyses of the environmental health analyses and findings are likely to confirm or reaching tens of meters in height (Stein &
significance and impact of the Tohoku event challenge the information presented here. Wysession, 2003).

January/February 2012 • Journal of Environmental Health 43

 A d van c ement o f the Science

Infrastructural and
Environmental Impact
FIGURE 2
The country of Japan has a long history of
deadly earthquakes and their effects (e.g., Diagram of a Subduction Zone
tsunamis and fires) and has spent consider-
able resources over the last several decades in
advancing engineering and safety given the
earthquake danger. In the face of the Tohoku
ocean

h
event, notable successes are visible in these ef-

nc
tre
forts, such as tsunami warnings and infrastruc-
ture that did not lend itself to widespread fires. overriding plate
p
Without either protection in place, the num- il du
bu subducting plate
bers of deaths and degree of damage would a in
undoubtedly have been far higher, such as the str
1923 M 7.9 Kanto earthquake that killed well weak mantle
over 100,000 people and left much of Tokyo
in ashes and ruin (De Boer & Sanders, 2005).
Despite these advances, extensive damage
occurred to infrastructure from the Tohoku
event, with impacts to human health both
immediately and into the foreseeable future.
As of May 12, 2011, the death toll stood at
ocean

h
14,998 with an additional 9,761 people

nc
tre
still missing (Japan National Police Agency,
2011). The number of homeless is estimated overriding plate
e
in the hundreds of thousands (Showstack, le as
re subducting plate
2011), with over 163,000 people living in a in
temporary shelters as a result of evacuations str
following the disasters (Reuters, 2011a). weak mantle
More than 46,000 buildings were damaged or
destroyed (Reuters, 2011a).
Damage to roads and railroad lines dis-
rupted relief efforts; shelters lacked adequate
food and water for several days (Magnier & When the stress in the deformed plate becomes larger than the strength of the fault, the fault breaks, releasing the
Demick, 2011; National Public Radio, 2011). strain in the form of an earthquake. The upper side of the fault moves upwards, displacing water above, potentially
triggering a tsunami.
Three weeks after the earthquake, high-speed
rail service had been restored to all but two
lines (Fountain, 2011) but train service
continued to be affected by rolling electri- Communication largely remained in- number of people that may have been with-
cal blackouts (White, 2011). Airports were tact; phone and Internet services were only out drinking water run as high as one million
closed immediately following the quake al- briefly interrupted. Within hours, people in (Showstack, 2011).
though all but the airport in Sendai reopened affected areas were able to use technology Electrical service was interrupted, and elec-
within a few days. The Sendai airport was im- to communicate with people in unaffected trical shortages including rolling blackouts
pacted by the tsunami and after four weeks areas (Vijayan, 2011). were still occurring more than three weeks
was able to partially reopen to commercial The earthquake and tsunami also affect- after the earthquake. Electrical shortages
traffic (Fackler, 2011). In addition, all major ed water service. One irrigation dam failed were exacerbated by the fact that Japan does
ports were closed right after earthquake; 15 as a result of the earthquake, and six more not have a unified national electrical power
ports in the immediate disaster area remained had shallow cracks on their crests (Chinese grid and uses 50-hertz and 60-hertz systems
closed while the rest of the nation’s ports re- National Committee on Large Dams, 2011). that are incompatible (Williams, 2011). Elec-
opened within several days (Manila Bulletin The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastruc- trical production was also disrupted due to
Publishing Corporation, 2011). As of May 6, ture, Transport and Tourism reported that damage to numerous nuclear reactors.
2011, the remaining ports were provisionally about 50 sewage treatment plants had been A new concern not encountered in previ-
functional although some were still limited to damaged. No count has been given of the ous events in Japan or elsewhere following
emergency aid transports (Inchcape Shipping number of drinking water systems affected an earthquake is severe damage to nuclear
Services, 2011). (Jaffe, 2011), although some estimates of the power plants that could result in deleterious

44 Volume 74 • Number 6
 FIGURE 3
Tectonic Map of Japan
Earthquake epicenter

Hokkaido Approximate fault rupture

Plate motion

Misawa Tsunami propagation at

different points in time

Onagawa Nuclear power plants

Sendai out of commission for
extended times
Fukushima-Daiichi
Fukushima-Daini
Tokai

Tokyo

Tectonic setting of the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake. The entire Japanese coast was impacted by the tsunami; however, northern Honshu suffered an especially large direct
tsunami impact.

health effects from the release of radia- (fresh water) during emergencies. Without a than the United States’ recommended 80 km
tion into the atmosphere, hydrologic cycle, continual supply of fresh coolant, the decay evacuation zone (BBC News, 2011a).
or soils. Fifteen nuclear power plants un- of nonuranium products that have built up The International Atomic Energy Agency
derwent emergency procedures during the in the system will boil off the coolant water (IAEA) has established a measurement tool,
earthquake, with four remaining closed for and eventually heat the fuel pellets past their the International Nuclear and Radiological
an extended period of time (Reuters, 2011b). melting point, causing a meltdown. Coolant Event Scale (INES), to rank the safety signifi-
All plants withstood the initial shaking and is always needed in nuclear reactors because cance of release of radioisotopes from various
were able to successfully insert control rods fission occurs spontaneously even when con- incidents. The scale ranges from 0 (no safety
into the core to halt uranium fission. Prob- trol rods are inserted and the reactor is shut impact) to 7 (highly dangerous). The level 7
lems at two of the power plants soon devel- off, causing heat to build up in the cladding, criteria indicate “widespread health and en-
oped, however. The most worrisome problem fuel, and the reactor core. If uncontrolled, the vironmental effects [and] external release of
was that reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi heat can lead to explosions (Shults & Faw, a significant fraction of reactor core inven-
power plant were impacted by the tsunami. 2008). Following explosions at the plant, tory (International Atomic Energy Agency
When the 14-meter waves topped a sea wall an area of 20 km surrounding the plant was [IAEA], 2008).” Event ratings at the Fukushi-
designed to withstand only a 5.7 m tsunami, placed under mandatory evacuation, and an ma-Daiichi plant originally were computed
the entire plant was flooded (Cyranoski, additional area up to 30 km surrounding the for individual reactors, rating them as 5, but
2011). The flooding irreparably damaged the plant was designated a voluntary evacuation on April 12, 2011, the disaster was upgraded
diesel backup generators that supply coolant area; these evacuation areas are much smaller to 7 because the accidents were considered as

January/February 2012 • Journal of Environmental Health 45

 A d van c ement o f the Science

FIGURE 4

Seismogram Recorded at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois

Love Rayleigh
P S

E-W

N-S

vertical

seconds x 102

Three seismogram traces show ground shaking in east-west (top), north-south (middle), and vertical (bottom) directions. Major seismic arrivals carrying the bulk of the energy are easily
observed (dashed).

a single event (IAEA, 2011a). The same rat- Evidence indicates that damaged fuel rods, disaster highlights how many of these core
ing of 7 was given to the nuclear disaster at either spent rods in cooling ponds or rods in areas overlap and interconnect.
Chernobyl, Russia, in 1986. Reasons for the the core of one or more of the reactors, have
upgrade include the fact that the Japanese been the source of environmental contamina- Air Quality
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the tion by radioactive isotopes of iodine and ce- Although widespread fires did not occur
Japan Nuclear Safety Organization indicated sium. Radioactive material was released into following the earthquake, localized areas
the following: the air and water, with about 11,500 tons of burned for days, such as the fishing village of
The value representing radiation impact, radioactive water released into the ocean on Kesennuma (Russian Television, 2011). Be-
which is converted to the amount equiva- April 4, 2011 (IAEA, 2011b), raising global cause no widespread fires followed the earth-
lent to Iodine-131, exceeds several tens of concerns about possible contamination of quake, the impact on air quality was largely
thousands of tera-becquerels (of the order fish and other sea life. limited to particulate from rubble immediate-
of magnitude as 1016 Bq)…[and]…this re- ly following the earthquake and radioactive
sults in the value corresponding to Level Environmental Health Impacts fallout from the explosions and emissions at
7 of INES rating (Ministry of Economy, The Tohoku disaster has relevance in each the nuclear reactors.
Trade, and Industry, 2011). of the 11 core areas of environmental health
Although the Fukushima accident has the identified by Ratnapradipa and co-authors Water Quality
same rating as the Chernobyl accident, “the (2011): air quality, water quality, weather/ As previously stated, sewage treatment fa-
amount of discharged radioactive materials climate change, food safety, healthy housing, cilities were damaged by the earthquake and
is approximately 10% of the Chernobyl ac- waste/sanitation, infectious disease/vector tsunami, and hundreds of thousands of peo-
cident (Ministry of Economy, Trade, and In- control, radiation, injury prevention, emer- ple were immediately without adequate safe
dustry, 2011).” gency preparedness, and toxicology. This drinking water. Damage and destruction of

46 Volume 74 • Number 6
water treatment and sewage systems increase aquaculture sites and processing plants were immediately. Instead, human remains have
the likelihood of outbreaks of cholera and destroyed (Ydstie, 2011), decreasing physi- been temporarily placed in mass graves, with
typhoid, although outbreaks are less likely cal capacity to produce, harvest, and process the intention to eventually exhume and cre-
to occur in developed countries. Outbreaks seafood. In addition, human bodies were mate them. This may take up to several years
of gastrointestinal illnesses are more likely washed out to sea and unrecovered, which (Russian Television, 2011).
among crowded survivors in temporary may have a psychological impact on fish Disposal of the debris from the earth-
shelters. The National Travel Health Net- consumption. Potential radioactive contam- quake and the tsunami is very problematic.
work and Centre of Britain’s April 7, 2011, ination of sea water is also a concern, given Much of it is contaminated with mud and
clinical update advised people traveling to the contamination of seafood. Monitoring of dirt, which may carry harmful bacteria or be
Japan that the “…flooding, stagnant wa- fish indicated that elevated levels were be- tainted with PCBs or asbestos. As the piles
ter, and contamination of water supply are ing recorded in sand lance as early as April of debris begin to dry, asbestos may become
conducive to development of diseases such 4, 2011 (IAEA, 2011e). Not only did ra- airborne (Makinen, 2011). Decaying waste
as salmonellosis, Campylobacter infection, dioactive wastewater leak directly from the may also lead to increases in insects and oth-
shigellosis, hepatitis A and E, and intestinal damaged reactor to the sea for several days er pests, further threatening human health.
parasites including Giardia and Cryptospo- (Brumfiel, 2011), but the immediate im- Another concern is that the debris may fer-
ridium (National Travel Health Network and perative to move coolant through the reac- ment and ignite (Makinen, 2011). The sheer
Centre, 2011).” In addition, traces of radio- tor resulted in deliberate dumping of 10,000 amount of waste resulting from the disas-
activity were detected in drinking water in tons of radioactive wastewater into the ter, estimated at over 80 million tons, is a
several prefectures, including Tokyo (Hur, ocean (Butler, 2011). The prevailing wind logistical problem that extends beyond the
2011; IAEA, 2011c). direction also carried airborne radioactive zones directly impacted due to the limited
contamination out to sea. The contaminated space for landfills (Makinen, 2011). Waste
Weather/Climate Change seawater dumped into the ocean may lead in Tokyo began to accumulate because in-
The unusually cold weather at the time of to radioactive bioaccumulation in fish and cinerators were affected by the power supply
the earthquake brought heavy snows to some shrimp, which if eaten by local residents, problems (Makinen, 2011).
affected areas and added to the difficulties may lead to increased human radiation ex-
faced by survivors, as many were homeless or posure (Friis, 2007). Infectious Disease/Vector Control
in emergency shelters immediately following With evacuees concentrated in schools and
the Tohoku event. Without electricity, many Healthy Housing other relief shelters, epidemics such as influ-
were without heat. The tsunami completely engulfed large areas enza pose a real threat. Rotting food in ware-
of coastline. Some villages were completely houses, mass graves, and decaying debris all
Food Safety destroyed and many homes were damaged. increase the likelihood of insect and other
Food shortages in affected areas were a great Homes that withstood the tsunami waves pest infestations, which may serve as vectors
concern immediately following the disas- will be faced with issues typical of flooding, for human disease.
ter. Failure of electrical service resulted in including structural damage, mold and mil-
large amounts of rotting food in warehouses dew growth, removal of contaminated mud Radiation
(Makinen, 2011), and damage to transpor- and dirt, and seawater-specific issues such Emergency personnel working to restore
tation routes meant that food delivery was as groundwater well contamination. In ad- safety functions to the damaged nuclear reac-
difficult immediately following the disaster. dition, many homes that were undamaged tors have had direct exposure to radiation. In
The largest continuing food safety concerns by the earthquake and tsunami are within response to the Fukushima disaster, the Japa-
relate to radiological contamination of both the radiological evacuation zone and are nese Health Ministry raised the legal limit of
land and sea. Radiation levels exceeding legal therefore uninhabitable at present. It may emergency radiation exposure for workers
limits were found in milk and certain vegeta- be necessary to pass emergency laws allow- from 100 to 250 millisieverts (mSv) (Pinoy
bles (notably leafy greens such as spinach) in ing demolition crews to knock down homes Global Online News, 2011). Two workers
areas as far away as 120 km from the Fuku- and structures thought to be too damaged to were exposed in excess of 200 mSv, with
shima plant (Hur, 2011; IAEA, 2011d; Olsen repair, without first contacting the property one receiving 240.8 mSv of radiation (Pi-
& McDonald, 2011). owner (Makinen, 2011). Estimates for re- noy Global Online News, 2011). That dose
Fish consumption in Japan is expected building have been as much as $310 billion is slightly below the 250–1000 mSv acute
to drop for the next several months due to (BBC News, 2011b). radiation sickness exposure level, in which
a combination of factors. Prior to these di- some people suffer from nausea, loss of ap-
sasters, Japan was second only to China in Waste/Sanitation petite, and bone marrow, spleen, and lymph
per capita consumption of fish (Zabarenko, The Japanese traditionally cremate their damage (Sherer, Visconti, & Ritenour, 2006).
2011). Japan’s fishing industry was heavily dead, but with damage to crematoria, im- It is important to note that exposure received
impacted by the tsunami. Several fishing vil- passible roads, and electrical outages, the by this individual was in minutes rather than
lages were destroyed, thousands of coastal cremation of more than 12,000 bodies, per- years, which means that the human body has
fishing vessels were lost, and shellfish and haps even twice that number, cannot occur less time to repair acute cellular damage than

January/February 2012 • Journal of Environmental Health 47

 A d van c ement o f the Science

when it receives chronic exposure (over a damage to nuclear reactors and the failure of high-volume doses, while those living in and
period of years) (Sherer et al., 2006). Acute emergency backup systems. This nuclear di- around the evacuation zones are at risk for
exposure to high doses of radiation may di- saster largely overshadowed responses to ad- low-to-moderate volume over a prolonged
minish effective cellular repair mechanisms dress the immediate needs of individuals in period of time. Physical characteristics such
and may exacerbate somatic (in the person) the earthquake and tsunami areas, many of as age are also risk factors. Pregnant women
and genetic (in their biological offspring) ra- whom were still without adequate food, wa- and infants are at higher risk than the general
diation effects (Sherer et al., 2006). ter, and shelter several days after the event. population due to the potentially negative de-
From a human health perspective, Io- velopmental impact of higher concentrations
dine-131 is problematic because it is readily Toxicology entering smaller bodies. Likewise, the young-
absorbed by the thyroid gland, which can As with many severe flooding situations, er population is more at risk for chronic low-
lead to diminished function and tumor de- harmful substances released directly into dose radiation exposure than the elderly.
velopment (Arena, 1971; Eaton & Klaassen, the environment can cause large-scale con-
1996; Sherer et al., 2006). Cesium-137 is eas- tamination of water and land. Contami- Conclusion
ily absorbed by the skeletal system, and with nants such as fuel products and pesticides The combined effects of the earthquake and
a half-life of 30 years, this isotope results are likely present in areas inundated by tsunami that devastated the area of northeast
in long-term, unwanted chronic exposure, the tsunami flood waters (Centers for Dis- Japan resulted in widespread infrastructure
which may lead to bone necrosis and cancer ease Control and Prevention, 2005). The destruction, loss of life, and environmental
(Arena, 1971). cardinal rules of toxicology involve the contamination. Perhaps the longest-lasting
relationship between dose and response. impact of the Tohoku event will result from
Injury Prevention If no exposure occurs, then dose is irrel- the damage to the nuclear power plants along
Although drowning due to the tsunami is evant, but if exposure does occur, dose is the coast and the subsequent release of radio-
responsible for most of the fatalities (Healy, paramount in determining possible health active elements into the environment. The
2011), many also died from physical trau- effects and treatment for the exposed popu- impacts were both immediate and local as
ma including head wounds and crushing lation (Eaton & Klaassen, 1996). Because they related to loss of life, injuries sustained
wounds resulting from the earthquake and population exposure has occurred in the during the disaster, displacement due to
the tsunami. Building codes designed to Tohoku event, the problem regarding ef- building damage, and food and water short-
withstand earthquakes undoubtedly pre- fective treatment and long-term population ages. In addition, the disaster will continue
vented many more injuries and death from monitoring hinges on determining exact to have long-term environmental impacts
building collapse. For comparison, although individual doses for everyone exposed to that extend beyond the immediate destruc-
the January 12, 2010, M 7.0 earthquake in toxic substances and radiation both from tion zones, particularly as they relate to ra-
Haiti was 1,000 times smaller than the To- the Tohoku event and the Fukushima-Dai- diological and toxicological contamination.
hoku quake, over 230,000 people died in ichi nuclear power plant accident. Environmental health professionals will have
the Haiti quake, primarily from building much to learn from the study of and response
collapse (Bilham, 2010). Vulnerable Populations to this disaster.
As with any environmental health concern,
Emergency Preparedness certain populations are more at risk for nega- Corresponding Author: Dhitinut Ratnapradi-
Japan has done much as a nation to prepare tive health consequences from environmental pa, Assistant Professor, Department of Health
for earthquakes and tsunamis with tsunami exposures than others. Radiological and toxi- Education and Recreation, Southern Illinois
warning systems and building codes to pro- cological exposures are assessed in terms of University, 475 Clocktower Drive, Pulliam
mote safety during seismic events. Japan both the volume and duration of the expo- Hall 307, Carbondale, IL 62901. Email: dhi-
was seemingly unprepared, however, for the sure. Emergency workers are at risk for acute, [email protected].

References
Arena, V. (1971). Ionizing radiation and life: Laboratory experiences Bilham, R. (2010). Lessons from the Haiti earthquake. Nature, 463,
(pp. 161, 167). St. Louis, MO: C.V. Mosby Company. 878–879.
BBC News. (2011a). Japan nuclear: Workers evacuated as radiation Brumfiel, G. (2011, April 5). Fukushima update: Radioactive iso-
soars. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ topes spill into the sea. Nature Newsblog. Retrieved July 25, 2011,
world-asia-pacific-12872707 from http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/04/fukushima_update_
BBC News. (2011b). Japan says quake rebuilding to cost as much as radioactive_i_1.html
25tn yen. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/
news/business-12828181?print=true

48 Volume 74 • Number 6
References
Butler, D. (2011, April 4). TEPCO forced to deliberately pollute Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/
ocean with radioisotopes. Nature Newsblog. Retrieved July 25, news/2011/fukushima120411.html
2011, from http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/04/fukushima_ International Atomic Energy Agency. (2011b). Fukushima nuclear
update_tepco_forced.html accident update. Fukushima nuclear accident update log. Retrieved
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). Tsunamis: Wa- May 10, 2011, from http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/
ter quality. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/ fukushima050411.html
disasters/tsunamis/waterquality.asp International Atomic Energy Agency. (2011c). IAEA briefing on Fu-
Chinese National Committee on Large Dams. (2011). A quick re- kushima nuclear accident. Fukushima nuclear accident update log.
port on Japanese dams after the earthquake. Retrieved April 3, Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/
2011, from http://www.chincold.org.cn/dams/NewsEvents/we- news/2011/fukushima260311.html
binfo/2011/03/1299639147955756.htm International Atomic Energy Agency. (2011d). IAEA briefing on Fu-
Cyranoski, D. (2011, March 29). Japan faces up to failure of its earth- kushima nuclear emergency. Fukushima nuclear accident update
quake preparations. Nature News. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from log. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://www.iaea.org/newscen-
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110329/full/471556a.html ter/news/2011/fukushima190311.html
De Boer, J.Z., & Sanders, D.T. (2005). Earthquakes in human history. International Atomic Energy Agency. (2011e). IAEA briefing on Fu-
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. kushima nuclear accident. Fukushima nuclear accident update log.
DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G., & Argus, D.F. (2010). Geologically cur- Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/
rent plate motions. Geophysical Journal International, 181, 1–80. news/2011/fukushima060411.html
Eaton, D.L., & Klaassen, C.D. (1996). Principles of toxicology. In Ishii, M. (2011). Preliminary rupture modeling of the March 11, 2011,
C.D. Klaassen (Ed.), Casarett and Doull’s toxicology: The basic sci- Tohoku-Chiho Taiheiyo-Oki earthquake and sequence of events using
ence of poisons (pp. 15–24, 187, 787). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. the USArray Transportable Array. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from
Fackler, M. (2011, April 14). U.S. airmen quietly reopen wrecked air- http://www.seismology.harvard.edu/research_japan.html
port in Japan. The New York Times, p. A6. Retrieved May 9, 2011, Jaffe, E. (2011, March 29). Assessing Japan’s infrastructure damage will take
from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/world/asia/14sendai.html time. The Infrastructurist. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from http://www.infra-
Fountain, H. (2011, March 25). Extent of damage to Japan’s in- structurist.com/2011/03/29/assessing-japans-infrastructure-damage/
frastructure still unclear. The New York Times, p. A8. Retrieved Japan National Police Agency. (2011). Damage situation and police
May 9, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/world/ countermeasures associated with 2011 Tohoku district—off the Pa-
asia/25infrastructure.html cific Ocean earthquake. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://www.
Friis, R.H. (2007). Essentials of environmental health (p. 121). Sud- npa.go.jp/archive/keibi/biki/higaijokyo_e.pdf
bury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Magnier, M., & Demick, B. (2011, March 19). Japanese citizens decry
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. (2011). The 2011 off the lack of aid. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from http://www.
Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake: Crustal deformation and fault postandcourier.com/news/2011/mar/19/citizens-decry-lack-of-aid/
model. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.gsi.go.jp/cais/ Makinen, J. (2011, April 3). After Japan disaster, disposing of waste
topic110421-index-e.html creates dilemmas. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, 2011,
Healy, M. (2011, March 13). Japan will face extraordinary health from http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ja-
challenges after tsunami. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, pan-trash-20110403,0,7628794,full.story
2011, from http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-japan-quake- Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. (2011). Status of Japanese
health-20110313,0,2408721.story ports 5 days after devastating quake and tsunami. Retrieved May
Hur, J. (2011, March 27). Food contamination set to rise as Japan 9, 2011, from http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/309623/status-japa-
fights radiation crisis at reactor. Bloomberg. Retrieved May 10, 2011, nese-ports-5-days-after-devastating-quake-and-tsunami
from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-27/food-contam- Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. (2011). INES (the interna-
ination-set-to-rise-as-japan-fights-radiation-crisis-at-reactor.html tional nuclear and radiological event scale) rating on the events in Fu-
Inchcape Shipping Services. (2011). Japanese dry cargo ports and ter- kushima-Daiichi nuclear power station by the Tohoku District—off the
minals report—Update 06 May, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from Pacific Ocean earthquake (news release). Retrieved May 10, 2011,
http://www.iss-shipping.com/NewsDetails.aspx?newsid=5462 from http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/files/en20110412-4.pdf
International Atomic Energy Agency. (2008). INES: The interna- National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2011). NASA/
tional nuclear and radiological event scale (Factsheet 08-26941/E). GFSC, MODIS rapid response. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://
Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://www.iaea.org/Publications/ modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Factsheets/English/ines.pdf National Public Radio. (2011, March 14). Millions of stricken
International Atomic Energy Agency. (2011a). IAEA briefing on Fu- Japanese lack water, food, heat. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from
kushima nuclear accident. Fukushima nuclear accident update log. continued on page 50

January/February 2012 • Journal of Environmental Health 49

 A d van c ement o f the Science

References continued from page 49

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134527591/millions-of-stricken- Showstack, R. (2011). Scientists examine challenges and lessons
japanese-lack-water-food-heat from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. Eos, Transactions of the
National Travel Health Network and Centre. (2011). Advice for trav- American Geophysical Union, 92(12), 97–99.
el to areas of Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 11 Shults, J.K., & Faw, R.E. (2008). Fundamentals of nuclear science and
March 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://www.nathnac. engineering (pp. 103–118). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
org/pro/clinical_updates/japanearthquake_150311.htm Stein, S., & Wysession, M. (2003). An introduction to seismology,
Olsen, K., & McDonald, J. (2011, March 20). Japan finds more types earthquakes, and earth structure (pp. 99, 215). Malden, MA: Black-
of radiation-tainted food. The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 9, well Publishing.
2011, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/20/japan- United States Geological Survey. (2011). Magnitude 9.0—Near
nuclear-radiation-food_n_838109.html the east coast of Honshu, Japan. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from
Pinoy Global Online News. (2011, May 1). NHK update: Fuku- http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/
shima-Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan—May 1, usc0001xgp/
2011. Pinoy Global Online News. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from Vijayan, J. (2011, March 13). Japan’s Internet largely intact after
http://filamimage.com/blog/2011/05/01/nhk-update-fukushima- earthquake, tsunami. Computer World. Retrieved May 9, 2011,
daiichi-nuclear-power-plant-accident-in-japan-%E2%80%93- from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9214358
may-1-2011/ White, S. (2011, April 5). Japanese companies react to tsunami di-
Ratnapradipa, D., Brown, S., & Wodika, A. (2011). Modified Delphi saster. Construction Week Online. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from
technique to determine what the general public needs to know http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-11722-japanese-
about environmental health. American Journal of Health Education, companies-react-to-tsunami-disaster/1/print
42(1), 50–57. Williams, M. (2011, March 18). A legacy from the 1800s leaves
Reuters. (2011a). Factbox: Japan’s disaster in figures. Retrieved Tokyo facing blackouts. IT World. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from
May 12, 2011, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/ http://itworld.com/business/140626/legacy-1800s-leaves-Tokyo-
us-factbox-japan-figures-idUSTRE73551020110406 facing-blackouts
Reuters. (2011b). TABLE—Japan nuclear plant ops (Japan Atomic to Ydstie, J. (2011, March 29). Japan’s fishing industry crushed
conduct planned maintenance). Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http:// by tsunami. National Public Radio. Retrieved May 11, 2011,
www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/11/nuclear-japan-status- from http://www.npr.org/2011/03/29/134941845/japans-fishing-
idUSL3E7G92B220110511 industry-crushed-by-tsunami
Russian Television. (2011, March 28). Japanese pay last respects to Zabarenko, D. (2011, March 28). U.S. experts: Significant water con-
earthquake victims. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://rt.com/ tamination in Japan. Reuters. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://
news/japanese-earthquake-dead-town/print/ www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE72R6AQ20110328
Sherer, M.A.S., Visconti, P.J., & Ritenour, E.R. (2006). Radiation pro-
tection in medical radiography (pp. 117–119, 121–123, 129). St.
Louis: Mosby-Elsevier.

NEHA Credentials
Protecting human health Why should your employees hold (CP-FS) have been rigorously developed
a NEHA credential? to ensure that those who successfully
and the environment pass the credentialing exams have the
since 1937 BECAUSE YOU WANT THE knowledge, skills, and abilities to com-
BEST WORKING TO PROTECT petently practice environmental health.
YOUR COMMUNITY!
For more information on NEHA
Professional credentials such as the credentials, please visit our Web site
Registered Environmental Health Spe- at neha.org/credential or contact the
cialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) credentialing department at
and Certified Professional – Food Safety (303) 756-9090, ext. 337.

50 Volume 74 • Number 6
Copyright of Journal of Environmental Health is the property of National Environmental Health Association
and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright
holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

View publication stats