The JCO criticality accident at Tokai-mura, Japan: an overview of the sampling campaign and preliminary results

• Published in: Journal of environmental radioactivity 2000-01, Vol.50 (1), p.3-14
• Main Authors: Komura, K, Yamamoto, M, Muroyama, T, Murata, Y, Nakanishi, T, Hoshi, M, Takada, J, Ishikawa, M, Takeoka, S, Kitagawa, K, Suga, S, Endo, S, Tosaki, N, Mitsugashira, T, Hara, M, Hashimoto, T, Takano, M, Yanagawa, Y, Tsuboi, T, Ichimasa, M, Ichimasa, Y, Imura, H, Sasajima, E, Seki, R, Saito, Y, Kondo, M, Kojima, S, Muramatsu, Y, Yoshida, S, Shibata, S, Yonehara, H, Watanabe, Y, Kimura, S, Shiraishi, K, Ban-nai, T, Sahoo, S.K, Igarashi, Y, Aoyama, M, Hirose, K, Uehiro, T, Doi, T, Tanaka, A, Matsuzawa, T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Biological effects of radiation; Brief chronology; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on plants and fungi; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Global environmental pollution; Japan, Tokai-mura; JCO criticality accident; Outlines of sampling; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Radiocontamination; Tissues, organs and organisms biophysics; Tokai-mura
• ISSN: 0265-931X; 1879-1700
• DOI: 10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00054-0

A criticality accident occurred on September 30, 1999 at the uranium conversion facility of the JCO Company Ltd. in Tokai-mura, Japan. A collaborating scientific investigation team was organized in two groups, the first to carry out research on the environmental impact (the environmental research group) and the second to assess the radiation effects on residents (the biological research group). This report concerns only the activities of the environmental research group. Four investigative teams were sent on different dates to the accident site and its vicinity to collect samples. About 400 samples were collected and subjected to analysis. An outline of the sampling campaign is presented here along with a brief chronology of the accident and the preliminary key results obtained by the independent research group are summarised in this Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity.