The purpose of this post is to draw attention to an upcoming event marking 10 years since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) meltdowns and presenting the results of research into how the disaster has affected ocean health. This post is part of an ongoing series dedicated to reporting on scientific research into the environmental and public health implications of the FDNPP meltdowns.
One of the largest recorded earthquakes in history and a remarkable tsunami on March 11, 2011 lead to the initial and ongoing releases of radioactive materials from the FDNPP.
On March 4th the research community will look back at what we’ve learned over the past 10 years during two virtual panels, both at 7:30 pm, one timed for Tokyo with the second for the U.S. East Coast, using simultaneous translation at the Tokyo event for Japanese and English speakers.
I encourage anyone interested here to register for these free panel events at the following link.
https://cmer.whoi.edu/10-years-of-study-and-insight/
The panels will be moderated by PBS science correspondent Miles O’Brien, with keynote introductions by Atsuko Toko Fish (Tokyo event) and Caroline Kennedy (US event). The panel of four experts- J. Kanda (Tokyo U. Marine Sci & Tech), K. Buesseler (WHOI, USA), S. Charmasson (IRSN, France), A. Brown (Safecast, Japan)- will review events that occurred, explore the fate of the radioactive contaminants in the ocean, the consequences for marine life and human consumers of seafood, and finally explore communication of these events to the public. The presentations and panel discussion will be moderated with the general public in mind and will be of interest to policy-makers, industry leaders, and the research community. It will also include time for questions from the audience.
Finally, during the week of March 4-11, we will host a virtual poster session accompanied by short audio presentations in English and Japanese with the option to leave your questions for the poster authors.
Together, the keynotes, panels, and poster session will offer a fitting memorial of events in 2011 and will also provide an informative and accessible summation of work that occurred over the past decade as a result.
I highly encourage those of you with interest in how the FDNPP meltdowns affected public and environmental health to attend.
