A methodological framework to analyse coping based on the testimony of the Director of the Fukushima Dai Ichi nuclear power plant

Aissame Afrouss (1) , Aurélien Portelli (2, 1) , Franck Guarnieri (1)

1 CRC - Centre de recherche sur les Risques et les Crises
2 ESAIP Grasse

The Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations established by the Japanese government received testimony from Masao Yoshida, the Fukushima Dai Ichi plant’s Director. During the hearing, Yoshida recounted the events he experienced between 11 and 15 March 2011 (Guarnieri et al., 2015; Guarnieri et al., 2016). He appears as a character in a narrative that describes the extreme situation that he and his workers faced at the plant. This testimony is an unprecedented source of knowledge, as it is the first time a first-hand account from a key manager in a nuclear accident has been made public. The transcript is an opportunity to undertake an analysis of Yoshida’s self-representation and examine the extreme situation through his eyes (Afrouss and Portelli, 2016). The analysis must also challenge classical explanations of the behaviour of collectives of engineers faced with a nuclear accident. This study requires a qualitative approach of Yoshida’s testimony. This article outlines the methodological steps and precautions to be followed for such an analysis. It begins with a definition of coping and highlights its relevance to the Fukushima Dai Ichi accident. The second part assesses the benefits and limitations of qualitative research, and how it can be used in social science. Finally, the third part outlines methodological steps to analyse coping in Yoshida’s narrative, while not neglecting the constraints of the approach.

Mots clés: Fukushima accident; Nuclear industry

Domaines: Gestion des risques et des crises

Aissame Afrouss, Aurélien Portelli, Franck Guarnieri. A methodological framework to analyse coping based on the testimony of the Director of the Fukushima Dai Ichi nuclear power plant. ESREL 2016, Sep 2016, Glasgow, United Kingdom. pp.614-620 - ISBN 978-1-138-02997-2. ⟨hal-01377036⟩