Recovering from Disaster

Multimedia · Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017

OSTI ID:1364992

Miley, Harry

From swords to plowshares—a PNNL-developed technology used to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was applied by Senior Nuclear Scientist Harry Miley for humanitarian purposes. In 2011, a powerful earthquake violently shook northeast Japan, triggering a massive tsunami with 133-foot-high waves that ravaged the land. These catastrophes set in motion a series of equipment failures, explosions, nuclear meltdowns and releases of radiation materials at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. More than 80,000 residents vacated the surrounding area. It was the largest nuclear disaster since the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Soon after the accident at Fukushima, Harry and his colleagues were there to help public officials by determining the impact on North America, the radiation dose to people, and the safety of milk and harvested foods. He used ultra-trace nuclear detection technology to provide crucial information about the nature of the radiological release, its magnitude and its impact on human health in North America.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 1364992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
PNNL
COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST-BAN TREATY
FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT DISASTER
RADIONUCLIDE AEROSOL SAMPLER/ANALYZER
RASA
XENON
RADIATION FALL OUT