On 6 October, 2011, an IAEA international expert mission has departed Vienna on its way to Japan to assist the country in its planning to remediate the areas off-site from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
The mission was organized the Japanese Government's request. It comprises 12 international experts from several countries and IAEA experts who will visit Japan from 7 to 15 October 2011.
Mission Leader Juan Carlos Lentijo, the General Director for Radiation Protection at Spain's nuclear regulatory authority, said before the team's departure that the "expert group is very motivated to undertake this important mission to help the remediation effort in Japan."
The team will go to several locations in the Fukushima Prefecture and meet Japanese officials in Tokyo. The experts, Lentijo said, "will assist Japan in its plans to manage remediation and review the remediation strategies, plans and work."
When the mission concludes, Team Leader Lentijo explained that the experts' findings will be shared with the international community and the general public. "At the end of the mission, a preliminary summary report will be provided to the Government of Japan and be made publically available," Lentijo said. The team is also planning to hold a press briefing at the end of the mission.
Background
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has led to the radiological contamination of large areas. The Government of Japan has been formulating a strategy and plans to implement countermeasures to remediate these areas.
The IAEA organized an International Fact Finding Expert Mission of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, which was conducted between 24 May and 2 June 2011.
The current mission is a follow-up to the fact finding mission held earlier in the year.
The IAEA's International Remediation Expert Mission to Japan is an essential component of the IAEA's Nuclear Safety Action Plan, approved by the IAEA Board of Governors on 13 September and endorsed by all 151 Member States at the recent IAEA General Conference in September 2011. The Action Plan defines a programme of work to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework.
The final report of the International Remediation Expert Mission will be presented to the Japanese Government in the month following the conclusion of the mission.