Due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, research institutions in Ukraine have been severely damaged and many researchers have been forced to suspend their research activities. Under such circumstances, from July to December 2022, Fukushima University’s Research Institute for Environment and Radioactivity accepted young Ukrainian researchers and provided them with training.JICA, in collaboration with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), has been working since 2017 to connect Chornobyl, Ukraine, and Fukushima in an international joint project to effectively utilize land that has been off-limits due to the nuclear accident. JICA has been working with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) since 2017 on an international joint project to make effective use of land that has been off-limits due to the nuclear power plant accident. Through this project, we have been able to accept this project.
We interviewed Dr. Olena Bourdeau of the Institute of Nuclear Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, who participated in the training program, about the results of the four-month training program and her own research. Even in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, Dr. Bourdeau is encouraged by the passion and strong bonds between researchers from both countries who continue to take on the challenge of rebuilding the areas affected by the nuclear accident.
Dr. Olena Bourdeau of Ukraine, who pursued her own research while undergoing training in Japan. We spoke with her at the Fukushima University Research Institute of Environment and Radioactivity
Fukushima and Chornobyli to conduct joint research to make use of knowledge
In April 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then the former Soviet Union). The area within 30 km of the plant remains a no-go zone even 36 years after the accident, and research and studies on the effects of radioactive materials on the environment have been conducted in Fukushima, which was affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The project was initiated in 2017 to utilize this knowledge and to strengthen sustainable environmental monitoring techniques for the effective use of the off-limits zone in Chornobyli.
Dr. Bourdeau is one of the Ukrainian co-researchers of the project, studying the effects of radiation on wild rodents living in the off-limits area of Chornobyli. During his training in Japan, based at the Fukushima University Research Institute of Environment and Radioactivity, the project’s representative research institute, he also worked with researchers at the Hirosaki University Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Hokkaido University of Science to hone the skills necessary for his field of expertise and held discussions with his co-researchers.
Dr. Bourdeau captures rats for study in a restricted area in Chornobyli, Ukraine.
Acquire the latest technology in chromosome analysis for effective use of off-limits areas
This time, Dr. Bourdeau learned the latest technique for analyzing chromosome aberrations in rodents, the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method, in Japan. The FISH method uses two or more fluorescent dyes to stain chromosomes and detect abnormalities, and requires a high level of experience and knowledge.
Since the rate of chromosome aberrations increases with the dose of exposure, the chromosome aberration value can be used to determine how much dose an individual was exposed to in that environment. However, in the case of low-dose exposure, it is necessary to analyze more than 1,000 cells per rodent to analyze chromosome aberrations, and the FISH method is expected to reduce the analysis time to less than one-tenth compared to the conventional one-color staining method and to improve the accuracy of the analysis. FISH is also expected to improve the accuracy of the analysis.
I have known about this technology since I was in Ukraine, but I had never practiced it. I am grateful for the support of many Japanese researchers who gave me the opportunity to learn this technique,” said Dr. Bourdeau. I would like to use the technology I have acquired to analyze the chromosomes of rats living in the off-limits area of Chornobyli. This will provide clues for the effective utilization of the off-limits area and how it is affected by human activities,” he says emphatically, explaining the significance of his research.
A scene from Dr. Bourdeau’s training. (Clockwise from top) Dr. Bourdeau and Prof. Tomitomo Miura of Hirosaki University’s Research Institute for Radiation Medicine capture wild rats in the hard-to-return zone in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture. Dr. Hiroko Ishiba (right), a specially-appointed lecturer at the Research Institute for Environment and Radioactivity, Fukushima University, also participated in the training / Chromosomes of rodents stained by the FISH method, as seen under a fluorescence microscope
The effective utilization of the off-limits area in Chornobyli is one of the Ukrainian government’s key plans for the country’s economic development. The Ukrainian government is considering the construction and utilization of a radioactive waste storage facility, a reprocessing facility, and a renewable energy facility in the future. To this end, it is essential to study the impact of the environment of this area on human beings.
Ukraine’s research situation with no clear future; Japan will continue to provide support.
Dr. Bourdeau’s eagerness to learn and absorb everything he could has changed my own mind. Dr. Hiroko Ishiba, a specially-appointed lecturer at Fukushima University’s Research Institute for Environment and Radioactivity, who was in charge of organizing and hosting Dr. Bourdeau’s training program in Japan, says, “I realized how lucky I am to have an environment where I can do my research without any inconvenience. She says that she realized how fortunate she is to have an environment where she can conduct research without any inconvenience.
The Nuclear Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, where Dr. Bourdeau’s research is based, was closed for about three months immediately after the invasion by Russian forces last February because of the risk of becoming a target of attack. We were in such a tense situation,” Dr. Bourdeau recalled. “We were under the threat of an attack, and we had no idea how we were going to survive tomorrow or how we were going to feed ourselves. I couldn’t think about my research at all,” Dr. Bourdeau recalls.
After the invasion by the Russian army, he took refuge in the suburbs of Kieu. Second from the right is Dr. Bourdeau.
In the midst of that time, he found out that he would be able to continue his research in Japan, and he thought it was “like a dream come true. He said that the four months he spent working with Japanese researchers “was a precious time for me, not only because I was able to immerse myself in research, but also because I was able to lead a normal life and think carefully about what I want to do in the future.
Although the situation in Ukraine continues to be difficult, with power outages becoming the norm, Dr. Bourdeau resumed his research activities in Chornobyl as soon as he returned to Japan in December. Dr. Bourdeau’s positive attitude in overcoming the adversity and continuing his research has encouraged Ishiba to “continue to support him and hope to work with him again in his research activities.
Hiroko Ishiba (left), a specially-appointed lecturer at Fukushima University’s Institute for Environmental Radioactivity Research who, like Dr. Bourdeau, studies the effects of radiation on wildlife. Dr. Bourdeau and I worked together in Ukraine in 2018 and 2019.
Utilizing the network of researchers cultivated through the project for the future
Prior to the Russian invasion, we conducted our research with people stationed in the off-limits zone in Chornobyli under strict control of radiation doses. Through the monitoring data, the Ukrainian government’s policy on the effective use of the off-limits zone has been materialized, which I think is a major achievement of the project. Professor Kenji Namba, Director of Fukushima University’s Research Institute for Environment and Radioactivity, said, “The project was a great success.
He said that they had planned to conduct joint research in Ukraine last March, but had to give up due to the invasion by Russia. When we heard that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was occupied and the computers and monitoring equipment used in our research were destroyed, we had to rush to provide replacements. Through this project, we were also able to provide fluorescence microscopes used in the FISH method, which we expect will be used for various technologies in Ukraine in the future.
Professor Namba said, “Through our project collaboration, we will of course be able to share our findings from Fukushima with Ukraine, but there is also much we have learned from Chornobyli’s experience. We don’t like to think about it, but we need to do research on all contaminants in case of another nuclear accident, which could happen anywhere in the world. In that aspect, the research at Chornobyli is very important for Japanese researchers as well.”
Professor Kenji Namba, Director of Fukushima University’s Research Institute for Environment and Radioactivity, says that by continuing to measure radiation levels in the environment, he will be able to better see the movement of not only radioactive materials but also related moving materials, and understand the connection between the environment and animals. He says that the data obtained through the project can be widely used for the future development of agriculture and forestry.
While research activities in Ukraine continue to face difficult conditions, Fukushima University has been accepting doctoral students from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, with which it is collaborating on a project, since last December, following Dr. Bourdeau. We will continue to support research and human resource development in the field of environmental radioactivity in Ukraine,” said Professor Namba. We will continue to support research and human resource development in the field of environmental radioactivity in Ukraine,” says Professor Namba, looking ahead to the future.
This project is unique in the world in that it brings together researchers from areas affected by the nuclear power plant accident. In addition to the scientific data obtained through the project, we will leverage the network of researchers and the strong relationship of trust that we have cultivated through our joint research to “prepare for the next phase,” says Professor Namba emphatically.
This project will come to an end in March 2023. However, the research connecting Chornobyl and Fukushima and applying past experiences to the future will continue, with researchers from both countries working hand in hand.
© Source JICA
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