FAO/IAEA-NARO Technical Workshop on Remediation of Radioactive Contamination in Agriculture

An appreciation of developments in this area will greatly improve emergency preparedness related to food and agricultural production in Member States. It will also support efforts to re-establish agricultural trade from areas currently affected by residual levels of radionuclides.

This Technical Workshop aimed at officials responsible for food and agriculture, nuclear safety or emergency planning and response. Professionals and academics involved in the remediation of radioactive contamination also participated.

The two day event was hosted by the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture (“the Joint Centre”) in collaboration with Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO).

Participants provided high quality contributions related to remediation in the technical sessions concerning:
1. Agricultural Land and Water
2. Plant and Crop Products
3. Animals and Animal Feeds
4. Food and Commodities (Post-Harvest).

Participants Presentations:

Plenary Session
Technical overview of key agricultural events since the nuclear power plant accident in 2011 [pdf] -
Mr. Nobuhisa Koga Kyusyu, Okinawa Agricultural Research Center National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.

Main highlights on Chernobyl over 30 years and current situation [pdf] -
Ms. Brenda Howard, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, UK.

Control of Radionuclides in Food and Agriculture [pdf] -
Mr. Gerd Dercon, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency.

Technical Session 1 - AGRICULTURE LAND & WATER
Dynamics of radioactive cesium in agro-environment [pdf]
Ms. Noriko Yamaguchi, Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.

National experience in remediation of contaminated farmlands after the Chernobyl accident [pdf]
Mr. Valerii Kashparov, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences, Ukraine.

Development of physical topsoil removal techniques and machines for farmland decontamination [pdf]
Mr.Sumihiko Miyahara, Institute of Agricultural Machinery, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.

Integrated approaches for a better understanding and modeling of radionuclides transfers along the soil-soil solution plant continuum [pdf]
Ms. Pascale Henner, Institute of Radio-protection and Nuclear Safety, France.

Technical Session 2 - PLANTS & CROP PRODUCTS
Mitigation of radioactive cesium transfer from soil to plant [pdf]
Mr. Takuro Shinano, Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.

Phyto-management of contaminated land: science, technology and context [pdf]
Ms Hildegarde Vandenhove, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre - Institute for Environment Health and Safety, Belgium.

DEMETERRES, A collaborative project for the remediation of agronomic soils contaminated with cesium [pdf]
Mr. Alain Vavasseur, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), France.

Growth and radiocaesium accumulation of Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis grown in three different caesium-contaminated Fukushima soils as influenced by potassium solubilizing bacteria inoculation [pdf]
Mr. Roland Rallos, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Philippines.

Physiology of Cs uptake by rice [pdf]
Mr. Shinichiro Uematsu, Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK-CEN), Belgium.

Technical Session 3 - ANIMALS AND ANIMAL FEEDS
Radioactive cesium contamination of grassland [pdf]
Ms. Yasuko Togamura, Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.

The basics of animal production under conditions of radioactive contamination [pdf]
Mr. Viktar Averyn, Biology Department of Gomel State University, Belarus.

The influence of the season on the levels of activities in crops following a short-term deposition of radionuclides to agricultural land [pdf]
Mr. Gerhard Proehl, Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, International Atomic Energy Agency.

Radioactivity monitoring and emergency preparedness in meat and animal feeds in Austria [pdf]
Mr. Christian Katzlberger, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Austria.

Technical Session 4 - FOOD & COMMODITIES (POST HARVEST)
Radioactive cesium dynamics during food processing [pdf]
Ms. Mayumi Hachinohe, Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.

Food management following the Chernobyl Accident [pdf]
Mr. Mikhail Balonov, Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene, Russian Federation.

Countermeasures on agricultural areas after the Chernobyl and Fukushima accident [pdf]
Ms. Vanessa Durand, Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), France.

Radiation monitoring of contaminated foodstuffs in Poland after the Chernobyl accident [pdf]
Mr. Dawid Frencel, National Atomic energy Agency (PAA), Poland.

Remediation Strategies for Radioactive Contamination of Agricultural Environment toward Food Safety in Pakistan [pdf]
Mr. Ihsanullah Ihsanullah, Nuclear Institute for Food & Agriculture (NIFA), Pakistan.

Technical Session 5 - SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS
Current and past situation of disaster area in Fukushima [pdf]
Mr. Yuzo Manpuku, Central region Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Research Organization, Japan.

Chernobyl: Socio-economic and environmental impacts and prospects [pdf]
Mr. Martin Krause, Division for Europe, Department of Technical Cooperation, International Atomic Energy Agency.

Job structures of farm households and direction to restoring farming in disaster area [pdf]
Mr. Akihisa Nonaka, Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan.