Areas with high radiation dosages reduced drastically in 3 years

The Reconstruction Agency released a map on July 10 summarizing people’s estimated exposure to radiation outside their homes in Fukushima Prefecture in 2011 and 2014. In the three years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, areas with an annual radiation dosage of 1 millisievert or more have shrunk drastically. The release was timed with the government’s announcement of a draft revision to a basic guideline for the Nuclear Disaster Victims Support Act. The dosage estimates were calculated on the basis of aerial radiation levels monitored by aircraft, conducted by the Nuclear Regulation Authority and other parties. They were based on the assumption that a resident spends 16 hours indoors and eight hours outdoors a day on average. “Radiation dosages at the Nakadori and Hamadori regions have dropped significantly and this gives proof that we are no longer in a situation where one needs to evacuate from areas outside evacuation-designated zones,” a Reconstruction Agency official said. (Translated by Kyodo News)