Science Misconceptions and Myths: From Fukushima to Covid

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, radiation fears caused huge social disturbance in Japan. To ease the prevailing trepidation, experts made dedicated efforts to provide accurate and concise scientific information. But they soon realised that the information they provided was not always readily accepted by the public.

Myths and misconceptions about science are often attributed to people’s overly emotional and instinctive reactions and to science illiteracy. But are the reasons in fact more complex? Based on their experience of Fukushima, Professor Gerry Thomas and Dr Sae Ochi presented the importance of understanding non-scientific rationality among ‘lay’ people when they look at science in the context of daily life. They also discussed whether the lessons learned from Fukushima are applicable to the CoVID-19 pandemic, in which the threat of an invisible hazard is again causing social turmoil.

Professor Thomas recommended this article by Robert Gale discussing the myths and inaccuracies in the popular TV series Chernobyl as a useful example of how incorrect ‘science’ can be conveyed to the public.

Professor Thomas's Presentation Dr Ochi's Presentation

A video of the event can be found here:

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