The Current Situation on Radiation Levels of Tokyo and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokodai)

June 1, 2011
Head of Radiation Countermeasures Office
 

To: International Students, Visiting Researchers and Partner Universities

Two and a half months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant nuclear accident struck Japan. Although Tokodai has returned to its normal operations, you may be concerned about the living conditions in Tokyo and the radiation levels in the air, food and drinking water. We would like to provide you with some information on the current situation in Tokyo and at Tokodai.
 

The radiation levels in the air, food, and drinking water are being monitored cautiously and information is being released to the public promptly. For example, the Japanese Government Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) provides daily updates on the air condition in each prefecture on its website below.
http://www.mext.go.jp/english/incident/1303986.htm (MEXT website)
 

Also, Tokodai has been measuring the level of radiation in the air at the Ookayama (Tokyo) and Suzukakedai (Yokohama) campuses, and publicizing the information daily on our website. You can see that the level of radiation on each campus is far below the government-issued safety guidelines and the global average annual exposure limits. For further information, please refer to the following website below:
http://www.envpro.titech.ac.jp/monitoring/Radiation_Monitoring_Data_at_Tokyo_Tech_E.pdf　(Tokodai website)
 

You can obtain more information from the UN agencies as well. The website of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has frequent updates regarding the situation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, including information on how the Japanese government, in conjunction with international experts, is handling the situation. For further information, please refer to the IAEA homepage below:
http://www.iaea.org/ (IAEA website)
 

The specialists of the World Health Organization (WHO) have been analyzing the risks for radiation related health problems, and have concluded that the risks are low beyond the evacuation and exclusion zones of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
For further information, please refer to the WHO homepage below:
http://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/faqs/en/index.html (WHO website)
 

In an effort to keep our students and researchers abreast of the ongoing situation, Tokodai has held a series of talks, including the “Tokodai Forum 2011” on 25 May 2011 for international researchers and a lecture by Professor Masahiro Kuze, Department of Physics, on “The Accidents of the Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima” on 1 June 2011. 
 

Tokyo Tech recommends that you frequently check our website for updated information on how we are supporting students impacted by this unfortunate disaster and the ways we are responding to this ongoing situation.  For further information, please refer to the Tokyo Tech homepage below:
http://www.titech.ac.jp/english/index.html (Tokyo Tech)