Reimagining food security through income security: the potential role of universal basic income in the UK.

In the event of a major nuclear accident involving the release of radioactive materials beyond a nuclear facility, radiation protection measures must be implemented to prevent deterministic effects (tissue reactions) and reduce the risk of stochastic effects (). The World Health Organization (WHO) () recognizes radiation protection as a public health measure within health crisis management frameworks. Protective actions for residents following a major nuclear accident include evacuation, temporary relocation, and sheltering (). Such incidents may result in both external and internal exposure. To minimize internal exposure, measures are implemented to prevent the inhalation and ingestion of radioactive materials. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) accident, the principal radionuclides released were I (physical half-life: 8.03 days), Cs (physical half-life: 2.07 years), and Cs (physical half-life: 30.1 years) (). Exposure to I raised concerns regarding increased thyroid doses in children, based on evidence from the Chornobyl NPP accident linking childhood thyroid exposure to elevated thyroid cancer risk (). Additionally, radio-cesium isotopes, including Cs and Cs, were expected to contribute to prolonged internal exposure because of their relatively long physical half-lives (). Since the FDNPP accident, food products exceeding regulatory limits for radio-cesium have primarily included wild vegetables, mushrooms, and meat from wild animals inhabiting forested areas within approximately 50 km of the FDNPP (). Consequently, even 15 years after the FDNPP accident, some Fukushima residents continue to exercise caution regarding the consumption of specific foods and water as part of radiation protection measures against internal exposure. Individual monitoring can provide clear evidence of radiation exposure levels and support health management following a nuclear disaster (). One approach for assessing internal radiation exposure is the external measurement procedure using a whole-body counting (WBC) system (, ). WBC systems detect gamma rays emitted from radioactive materials such as I, Cs, and Cs within the human body. Within the first year after the FDNPP accident, some residents underwent WBC measurements for I and radio-cesium (). Subsequently, monitoring efforts focused exclusively on radio-cesium, and residents who requested examinations continued to undergo assessments of internal exposure from ingestion for 15 years after the accident (, ).