Fukushima's Fallout of Fear · Slashdot Mirror

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday January 16, 2013 @09:54AM from the only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-itself-and-radiation dept.

gbrumfiel writes "Experts believe that the many thousands who fled from the Fukushima nuclear disaster received very low doses of radiation. But that doesn't mean there won't be health consequences. Nature magazine traveled to Fukushima prefecture and found evidence of an enormous mental strain from the accident. Levels of anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms are high among evacuees. Researchers fear that, in the long run, the mental problems could lead to depression and substance abuse among those who lost their homes. In other words, even if no one develops cancer as a direct result of radiation, the health effects could still be very real."

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Re:This is about information policy by iYk6 · 2013-01-16 10:30 · Score: 5, Informative

Or even more reason to be afraid...IIRC part of the problem was they weren't telling people how bad it really was wasn't it?
That was the problem. By lying, officials were indirectly telling people that the nuclear disaster was so bad that they had to lie. Plus, not knowing how bad it is adds another layer of stress.