Introduction of our project

Our project, titled “Establishing resident-centred implementation policies for internal radiation exposure examinations,” commenced in the Japanese fiscal year (JFY) 2025 and is scheduled to run for three years. This website provides an overview of our project, information on the principal investigator, and updates on its progress.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (Tokyo Electric Power Company), whole-body counting system (WBC) examinations for internal radiation exposure have been conducted since JFY 2011. As of March 2025, over 356,000 cumulative individuals have undergone internal radiation exposure examinations. While approximately 90,000 cumulative individuals received examinations in JFY 2012, the number has been decreasing in recent years, with about 1,000 cumulative individuals undergoing examinations annually. Our project aims to investigate future needs for internal radiation exposure examinations and explore potential future directions. Our protocol is shown in a figure.

Furthermore, conveying the experiences gained in Fukushima will be crucial for preparing for future nuclear disasters. Therefore, we will proceed with developing an operational manual to ensure accurate measurement and smooth implementation of internal radiation exposure examinations. Additionally, our project will document the experience of experts' risk communication with residents regarding internal radiation exposure examinations. We believe this will enable preparations for internal radiation exposure examinations in anticipation of future nuclear disasters.

This work was supported by Research Project on the Health Effects of Radiation organised by Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

1st October, 2025
Takashi Ohba, R.T., Ph.D
(The principal investigator in this project) 

Department of Radiological Sciences,
Fukushima Medical University
10-6 Sakae-machi Fukushima, Japan, 960-8516
TEL：+81-24-581-5568
E-mail：genki100@fmu.ac.jp