Webinar: “Fukushima Daiichi – A Perspective”

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Join us for a retrospective on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and an outlook on Japan’s energy future with Dr. Ian McKinley, Executive Consultant at McKinley Consulting!

March 11, 2021, marks the tenth anniversary of the Great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, ranked as the costliest natural disaster in world history. The damage to coastal infrastructure was immense, with long-term impacts that include widespread pollution from sewage, oil and a wide range of toxic chemicals. However, most people will only remember only one of these incidents – the reactor core melts at Fukushima Daiichi (“1F”) nuclear power station. This presentation will briefly outline background and lessons learned from the 1F accident and subsequent remediation, putting this in context by comparison with similar events in other countries. From an assessment of the current status of work and plans for the future, implications for expansion of nuclear power in Japan and associated issues will be discussed. 

Participants interested in doing preliminary readings on the topic ahead of the webinar can find a list of relevant articles by Dr. McKinley at the bottom of the page.

Biography of the Speaker:

Dr. Ian McKinley has worked for over 4 decades in the multidisciplinary science underpinning radioactive waste management. After studying marine releases of radioactivity in Scotland and supporting the British nuclear waste disposal programme, he moved to Switzerland in the mid ‘80s. In addition to projects for a Swiss repository, he has collaborated intensively with colleagues in Japan for 3 decades, spending time as visiting professor at Nagoya and Okayama Universities. After the Fukushima Daiichi accident, his team worked with JAEA to assess contamination, develop remediation projects and evaluate long-term options for the 1F reactor site.

Preliminary readings on the topic:

• McKinley, I. G. (2012). “The Importance of Clear Communication”, Elements, 8(3), p. 168. Available here.

• Miyahara, K.; McKinley, I. G., et al. (2015). “Use of knowledge and experience gained from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident to establish the technical basis for strategic off-site response” (2015-001), Naka/Ibaraki: JAEA-Review. Available here.

• Kawamura, H.; Yashio, S.; McKinley, I. G. (2017). “Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation Scenario Development for Fukushima Daiichi”, ATW – Internationale Zeitschrift fuer Kernenergie, 62(7), pp. 445-450. Available here.

• Sector of Fukushima Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency: Website