【INVITATION】Dec.12 / Press Conference "Introducing the issues of Nuclear radiation and Biodiversity" at CBD COP13

INVITATION

Press Conference on the situation after Fukushima Nuclear plant disaster -Introducing the issues of Nuclear radiation and Biodiversity-

Nuclear radiation poses large threats to Biodiversity and the sustainability of societies.
The possibility of future nuclear accidents, such as that of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, cannot be excluded.
This issue is of interest to the international community and is very relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and, therefore, should be addressed under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The issue of nuclear accidents and pollution is an issue of central concern for the CBD.
We, citizens from Japan, feel that it is very urgent and necessary to raise this issue since we are experiencing the serious and long-lasting harm to biodiversity and send out an international alarm.

■schedule: Dec.12(mon) 12:00-13:00


■location : Press conference room (Universal building 2nd floor)

■speakers:
・Masako Sakata (representative of JCN-UNDB) 
　[Nuclear radiation and Biodiversity]
・Takafumi Tomita (JCN-UNDB / Environmental NGO ”ikimono cafe”)
　[radioactivity measurement , food contamination,Children’s sickness]

■contact : ikimonocafe@gmail.com 

■information : http://ikimononocafe.blogspot.mx/ 

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■message

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, which began on 11 March 2011, released large amounts of radioactivity into the Pacific Ocean.

As calculated by the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), “this is the largest one off injection of articial radionuclides into the marine environment ever observed.”

For example, the reported release of Cs-137 between May 2011 to December 2014 resulting from the disaster is an enormous radioactive discharge when compared to the routine releases from the European Union’s largest nuclear plant, Graveline in northern France.

The release from Fukushima plants of Cs-137 in the 3.5 years are equivalent to 500,000 years of discharges from Graveline.

Due to the radionuclides released by the Fukushima nuclear accident, and their incorporation into the materials cycle of ecosystems, the impacts of the disaster will last for ever-lasting.

The contamination of the marine environment has been extensively investigated over the past 5 years, but in particular, there is a significant lack of research pertaining to species and ecosystem impacts.

The emergency conditions and radiological inventory at the Fukushima Daiichi site still remains a clear and enormous potential source of even greater contamination to the coastal and wider marine environment .

We have to clearly recognize that all nuclear power plants in operation have the same kind of risk for accidents and could cause irreversible environmental pollutions across borders.

London Convention is known as the international rules for the ocean pollutions, but there is no account on the radioactive pollutions in the world.  

At CBD COP, it is necessary to pursue where the responsibility lies when international radioactive pollutions, like Fukushima nuclear disaster, are caused, and to recognize that such kind of economic activities are a great threat for biodiversity.

Radioactive contamination by nuclear accidents deprives us of all we rely on to live,such as local community,air, water, soil and food come from the ecosystem and diverse living things.

While we in Japan feel great responsibilities for having been scattering radioactive substances all over the world, we strongly hope that people around the world will learn from our experiences of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  

It is essential that the dedicated international research and investigations continues so that all people may better understand the impacts of this ongoing nuclear disaster.

Takafumi Tomita ( JCN-UNDB / Environmental NGO “ikimono cafe” )