Research overview

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 (also known as the Tohoku Earthquake), NIES has been undertaking various environmental and disaster-related research (environmental emergency research) in collaboration with national and local governments to support disaster-affected areas using the environmental research expertise it has accumulated over the years. NIES has been engaged in a broad spectrum of research including those related to the treatment and disposal of disaster waste (such as debris) and radioactively contaminated waste, the environmental behavior of radioactive substances and its biological and ecological impacts, the impact of the earthquake and tsunami on the environment, and community reconstruction programs in disaster-affected areas and the formation of regional community environments.

In 2016, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) established Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Center in the Research Building of Fukushima Prefectural Centre for Environmental Creation (Fukushima CEC) located in Miharu Town, Fukushima Prefecture. The objective of Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Center is to promote and maintain rigorous scientific research activities focused on disaster-affected areas.
NIES uses its Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Center as a collaboration hub to conduct environmental emergency research aimed at environmental recovery and renovation in disaster-affected areas. The collaborating partners include various relevant organizations, including Fukushima Prefecture and Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).

Environmental Emergency Research at NIES is conducted under the following research programs: (1) Environmental Recovery Research Program, (2)Environmental Renovation Research Program, and (3) Environmental Emergency Management Research Program. Our existing and consequently obtained scientific expertise and outcomes have been reflected in policymaking for recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, as well as environmental creation in its aftermath.

NIES also extends support to Fukushima CEC’s efforts to collect and disseminate environmental information, as well as cooperating on education, training, and exchange programs by providing environmental emergency research expertise. The overall goal is to make Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Center into a globally recognized hub in environmental emergency research.