Profile

Ph.D. in Agricultural Science. My area of expertise is Environmental Radioecology. My research focuses on the behavior and transfer of radionuclides in the terrestrial environment utilizing their speciation.

Main Focus of Research

·Elucidation of radionuclide transfer from soil to crop
·Elucidation of dynamics of radiocaesium in reservoirs
·Evaluation of radiocaesium and 90Sr activity concentrations in agricultural crops collected from Fukushima Prefecture and radiation dose estimation from foods

Fields of Research

Environmental Radioecology, Analysis of trace elements, Health Physics

Keywords

Radionuclide, Radiocaesium, 90Sr, Speciation of radionuclides, Soil, Crops, Agricultural water, Reservoir bottom sediment

Research Overview

Radionuclides released into the environment transfer through various processes, being affected according with the existence forms. Therefore, to grasp the behavior of radionuclides, it is necessary to study on speciation as well as transferring amount.
I have so far conducted research in the field of Environmental Radioecology, with the focus on dynamics of radionuclides mainly in the terrestrial environment. In the current research, I work to clarify the existence forms of radionuclides (mainly radiocaesium and 90Sr) in the terrestrial environment, elucidating and analyzing their dynamics in soil-plant system, land water and their related factors.

A few words

Environmental Radioecology is a comprehensive academic field that combines various research fields such as analytical chemistry, geochemistry, environmental chemistry, and biology, etc. With my experience and knowledge, I have been engaged in the following activities after the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident.

Immediately after the accident from March to July 2011, in cooperation with several researchers, I continued to post and update “Information on the nuclear accident” in a website of Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition. At that time, much confused information on the radionuclides dynamics were spreading around but our information at the website was used many times as information based on academically correct knowledge. The information we updated was finally published in Japanese Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 82 (2011) 408-418. In addition, as a commentary for the general public, I disseminated information on the dynamics of radiocaesium in soil and its transfer in soil-plant system.

In 2012 to 2013, I joined Fukushima Future Center for Regional Revitalization at Fukushima University. Since 2014, I have belonged to IER to conduct studies in Fukushima Prefecture as my research fields. I am aiming to face the challenges of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by elucidating the dynamics of radionuclides in the environment. As a citizen of Fukushima, being closely related to the future of this place, I hope to disseminate scientific and universally correct data from Fukushima.

Personal Interest

Walking in the town

Curriculum vitae

1983	Hokkaido University, School of Fishery Sciences
1984	The Institute of Public Health
1984-1986	Japan Chemical Analysis Center
1987-1989	Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation
1990-1991	Japan Chemical Analysis Center
1992-2013	Institute for Environmental Sciences
2001	Ph.D. in Agricultural Science, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University
2012-2013	Fukushima Future Center for Regional Revitalization, Fukushima University
2014-	Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University
2018-2019	Director of Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University
2019-	Head of Environmental Dynamics Division, Fukushima Prefectural Centre for Environmental Creation

Awards

2013	The 58th Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Award
2013	Japanese Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Award
2014	Poster Award of 20th World Congress of Soil Science
2015	ICOBTE 2015 Fukuoka the Poster Award