Arrangements for Telephone Consultation on Radiation Health Effects in a Nuclear Emergency in Japan: Lessons Learned from the Nuclear Accident in Fukushima, Japan, 2011

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) established a telephone consultation system at the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in response to residents’ concerns about the radiation health effects following the nuclear accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in March 2011. Eight toll-free telephone lines were established and employees with knowledge of radiation health effects were assigned for consultation. The JAEA expert response group for telephone inquiries comprised a telephone response team, a question-and-answer team, and a manager. Approximately 35,000 consultations were conducted from March 17, 2011 to September 18, 2012. Japan’s Basic Disaster Prevention Plan was revised following the accident, where one of the JAEA’s roles for nuclear emergency response was to provide telephone consultation on radiation health effects. The JAEA’s system for telephone consultation was improved following this experience. The description of telephone hotlines in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s guide, GSG-14, published in 2020, was discussed for further improvement in the JAEA’s telephone consultation system.