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The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

The Association to Help Chernobyl, Chubu-District, Japan

Measuring radiation in areas affected by nuclear disaster

Activity grant

Project Description

Measuring radiation levels twice a year at around 1,400 residential sites in Minamisoma and Namie, towns which were both affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, then putting this data into map form and distributing it to communal facilities, neighbourhood associations, and temporary housing areas. We also measure radiation levels in water, soil, and food products and vegetables brought in by local residents at the Minamisoma Environmental Radiation Center.

Grant year
FY14/3 Activity Grants
Grant term
3 years
October 2014 - September 2017
Grant amount
6,000,000 yen
Activity region
Minamisoma and Namie, Fukushima, Japan
Measuring radiation near an off-limits area in Minamisoma

Overview of the Organization

Tomio Hara, Director
Representative
Tomio Hara, Director
Establishment
1990 (became an NPO in 2000)
Establishment purpose
The association was established in 1986 to support the areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. At first activities were focused on providing medical support, such as medicines and ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, for victims in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine, but since 2007 it has been working on reducing internal exposure by using rapeseed to remove radiation from soil while also producing biodiesel and biogas fuel. Since 2011, activities have been focused on Minamisoma and Namie, Fukushima.
Main areas of activity
Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine; Minamisoma and Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, and Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Staff
3 full-time staff members, 1 part-time staff member, and 38 full members
Annual operating budget
14.61 million yen in 2012, 19.02 million yen in 2013, 18.93 million yen in 2014
WEB site
http://www.chernobyl-chubu-jp.org
Collaborating organizations
Minamisoma Environmental Radiation Center
Recent activities
  • Measuring air radiation dose rates using 500m meshes in Minamisoma (since June 2011) and Namie (since October 2013), creating pollution maps, and sharing these at communal facilities and temporary housing areas
  • Establsihed the Minamisoma Environmental Radiation Center in order to measure radiation levels in soil and vegetables, etc., for residents free of charge
  • Implementing the Nanohana Project aiming to revive agriculture through the production of safe rapeseed oil