NUCLEAR ACCIDENT IN JAPAN: WHERE TO GET UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION

Published: 23 Mar 2011
Following the massive earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, a number of explosions and fires took place at the reactor buildings of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Japan declared a state of alert and reported leaks of radioactive material. Given the magnitude and the global dimension of the disaster, Japanese authorities and the international community are following the situation very closely. A series of sources provide the public with up-to-date information on the accident's possible impacts on Europe's environment as well as radiation measurements across Europe.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provides regular updates on the nuclear accident in Japan. In Europe, many countries also provide unvalidated radiological monitoring data and maps on a daily basis through EURDEP, the European Radiological Data Exchange Platform managed by Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. In response to a request by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to support IAEA, the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics in Austria (ZAMG) has developed plume calculation models.

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) provides further information on nuclear safety and emergency arrangements at different levels of governance. The Urgent Radiological Information Exchange (ECURIE), operated by JRC, ensures information sharing at an EU-level. Systems such as ENSEMBLE aim at reconciling national forecasts of medium and long-range atmospheric dispersion.