Living In A Nuclear Zone

A new booklet on radiation raises doubt, confusion

November 15, 2011, 8:33 pm


Fumihiko Ito

The Yomiuri Shimbun/ANN

Waking up with the constant threat of radiation exposure has not been easy for the villagers of Fukushima, who, along with their children, are still grappling with the idea of being forced to learn about radiation and living with the risks for a long time.

It does not help that doubts are being raised on new reading materials on the basics of radiation distributed to primary, middle and high schools.

These booklets, produced by the education, culture, sports, science and technology ministry, had been in fact completely revised, as previous versions were criticised after the outbreak of the crisis for including inappropriate descriptions of nuclear power plants and atomic energy.

Still, the latest material contains little information regarding the nuclear crisis and concrete measures to deal with it.

Middle schools have not taught about radiation for 30 years, and how schools use the supplementary materials will be a key issue in teaching about radiation at schools.

The beginning of the booklet for primary school students reads, "After the nuclear accidents occurred, materials that emit radiation leaked from the nuclear power plant." But it does not mention the nuclear crisis in the main text.

According to the ministry, some of the 13 authors of the booklets said they should describe the crisis, including conditions in Fukushima prefecture. However, most insisted it was more important to first provide information to students about radiation, so they would understand how disaster-hit areas were contaminated.

The booklets, for example, write that radiation is constantly present in the natural environment and explain about units such as sieverts and becquerels. They also explain that radiation is used in various fields such as medicine, agriculture and industry, using many pictures.

Regarding human exposure to radiation, the booklets describe external exposure resulting from cosmic rays or X-rays, and internal exposure from ingestion of contaminated food or inhaling radiation.

They also write that Japanese receive an average of about 1.5 millisieverts of radiation annually from natural sources, and the average   individual in the world receives about 2.4 millisieverts annually.

The new material instructs students to keep away from radioactive materials and shorten the time they are exposed to radiation, to protect themselves from it.

To prevent internal exposure, the books instruct students to cover their mouths by using masks or other means, and not to eat food the intake of which has been restricted.

Regarding the connection between radiation doses and health, one booklet says, "There is no clear evidence that people develop cancer from radiation doses below 100 millisieverts. It is not necessary to worry about radiation doses if the radiation comes from the natural environment or common practices such as an X-ray, but it is important to avoid receiving radiation as much as possible."

The booklet for primary students writes, "Radiation does not spread from person to person." An essay in the booklet for high school students also describes the "risk and benefit" theory that is used in medicine.

"When people use something for their benefit, they cannot avoid a certain amount of risk," the column states.

This is implying that nuclear power plants bring benefits such as power supply, and risks such as radiation.

"(The essay) seems to be trying to justify the measures taken by the government regarding the nuclear crisis," said Hosei University professor Takeo Samaki, who specialises in science education.

Confusing facts 

Teachers from the Takinogawa Primary School in Kita Ward in Tokyo decided to hold a lecture on radiation after learning from reports that victims of the nuclear disaster forced to take shelter experienced discrimination.

"It was hard to find material that explains radiation understandably from a neutral standpoint," school principal Shiro Hayashi said.

As part of new teaching guidelines to be fully implemented in middle schools starting in the 2012 academic year, the science guideline which refers to radiation studies for the first time in 30 years—was implemented in the 2009 academic year.

Masaki Kobayashi, 51, a teacher of Kaishin Dai-Ichi Primary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, plans to teach about radiation in his science class as early as next year.

"As the supplementary material has too much content," he said, "I’m worried how to teach students about the risks of radiation or how to protect themselves (from radiation) in the limited class time, without leaving them feeling uncertain. Teachers also need to study (about radiation)."

Hisao Oshimizu, 60, principal of Ono Primary School in Okumamachi, Fukushima prefecture, said: "When children go back to their hometown, knowledge about radiation will become necessary. We’d like to teach about it gradually."

The students of the school evacuated as a group to Aizu-Wakamatsu in Fukushima prefecture after the nuclear accident.

Watari Middle School, in the Watari district of Fukushima, measures radiation at the school almost every week. The Watari district has shown radiation levels that are relatively higher than elsewhere in the city.

While the school informs the students’ parents of the radiation levels, it refrains from explaining the effects of radiation to students as it believes the word "radiation" would cause stress for some children, the school said.

Yoshinori Saito, 59, principal of the school, criticised the government’s position on teaching about radiation, saying, "The information (in the new supplementary material) should have been distributed to schools before the (Fukushima) accident happened."

Before producing the new booklets, the government had not provided materials about radiation for primary school students, considering the subject inappropriate for them. After the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the school tried to find study material about radiation on the Internet.

Meanwhile, Hosei University professor Takeo Samaki said: "I don’t think schoolteachers will be able to teach about the effects of radiation on human bodies, which is the most important point, because the material does not clearly describe them. Opinions are divided even among scholars over the bodily effects of a one-time exposure to below 100 millisieverts of radiation. To enable children to make objective judgments, essays expressing various opinions should have been included in the supplementary material," he said.