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Effects on organisms and ecosystems
While methods to evaluate the environmental effects of
radiation are of interest internationally, relevant scientific data are extremely
limited. This group conducts studies to evaluate the effects of radiation on
representative species and to clarify the dose-effect relationship on environmental
biota. In addition, the group develops methods to evaluate the ecological effects
of radiation using experimental model ecosystems containing various species.
Examples of target organisms
Exposure to natural radiation
Since natural radioactive substances contribute greatly
to the radiation dose received by the general public, it is necessary to quantify
the actual level of exposure and to document its features. This group investigates
the concentration and exposure doses of radon, thoron, and related radionuclides,
mainly in areas with high natural radiation, and analyzes the results together
with epidemiological data.
Radon-thoron discriminative detector and radon chamber
When we are flying in an aircraft, we are exposed to intense
cosmic rays. Measurement of this cosmic radiation is complex and the current
dosimetry method has large uncertainty. This group works on the improvement
of measurement devices and on the development of personal dosimeters in order
to verify the precision of model calculations. Some of the calculation data
is available to the public as the "Japanese Internet System for CAlculation
of Route Doses (JISCARD)" on the NIRS website at the following address:
http://www.nirs.go.jp/research/jiscard/index.shtml
Marine dynamics of important radionuclides
Because many nuclear facilities are located along the
shore of the Pacific Ocean and the Japan Sea, it is very important to predict
the environmental behavior of radionuclides and their fate in marine ecosystems.
This group focuses on the development of highly sensitive analytical methods
for important radionuclides (e.g. plutonium, americium, iodine) for which data
are scarce, and provides data on their isotopic ratios to understand their
environmental behavior in marine ecosystems. These studies are conducted at
the Nakaminato Laboratory for Marine Radioecology.