The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund
Introduction to Grant Projects
The Association to Help Chernobyl, Chubu-District, Japan
The Narodychi Restoration and Nanohana Project - aiming to restore the region by purifying irradiated soil and facilitating bioenergy use
Activity grant
- Project Description
Zhytomyr Oblast in Ukraine was contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and residents continue to suffer from radiation poisoning caused by ingesting contaminated crops. The Association to Help Chernobyl, Chubu-District, Japan has recognized the ability of rapeseed to absorb radioactive substances (including Cs137 and Sr90), and since 2007 it has been implementing a project that cultivates rapeseed in contaminated areas, uses the rapeseed oil produced to create biodiesel, and then uses the waste left after harvesting as biomass fuel and waste from oil production to manufacture biogas. This project will encompass the fourth and fifth years of a five-year plan, and will include initiatives to prevent damage from continous rapeseed cultivation, and the development of effective cultivation methods. This will contribute to improving soil conditions in contaminated areas, reducing radiation poisoning in local residents, and revitalizing regional agriculture through biofuel and energy production.
- Fields
- Preservation of surface soil and forestsEnergy problem
- Grant year
- FY2009 Activity Grants
- Grant term
- 2 years and 3 months
April 2010 - June 2012
- Grant amount
- 10,000,000 yen
- Activity region
- Narodychi District, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine

Overview of the Organization

- Representative
- Director: Takashi Komaki
- Establishment
- 1990
- Establishment purpose
- Established with the aim of providing support for victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
- Main areas of activity
- Contaminated areas of Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine
- Staff
- 2 full-time staff members, 1 part-time staff member, 38 full members (including one member stationed overseas)
- Annual operating budget
- 30.06 million yen in 2007, 41.72 million yen in 2008, 33.12 million yen in 2009
- WEB site
- http://www.chernobyl-chubu-jp.org
- Recent activities
- Since its establishment, The Association to Help Chernobyl, Chubu-District, Japan has provided support for hospitals in disaster stricken areas of Zhytomyr Oblast, medical support for disaster victims, and powdered milk and a scholarship fund for children. As a result, the medical situation is improving, but residents continue to suffer from radiation poisoning caused by living in contaminated areas. In oreder to tackle this situation, the association has launched a new project in which rapeseed is cultivated in contaminated areas to absorb radiation and purify soil, and the harvested rapeseed is used to produce biodiesel and biogas, revitalizing local agriculture.